The Sleeper
by my arbalest
Summary: [AU] Months after the Chuunin Exams,a proposal has been approved by the Hokage that will eventually change a young kunoichi's life. For every gain, there is always a sacrifice. Bound by her work to never enter into romantic relationships, what happens when she is assigned in Suna and housed with Gaara & his siblings? Dark Hinata. M for violence,some humor, sexual content
1. Chapter 1

**Konohagakure no Sato**

**Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai**

Special Assassination and Tactical Squad

Commando, Intelligence and Reconnaissance Division

Proclamation No. 718 (Marked as Confidential)

Under Land of Fire Decree No. 66 – Creation of Special Groups and Divisions for ANBU, we the undersigned hereby enumerate the goals, rules and regulations for the newly established Female Undercover and Clandestine Keeping (FUCK) Section.

1. The FUCK Section of the ANBU was first proposed by Mitarashi Anko for the following reasons:

i. To create a section in the ANBU that will focus on espionage and underhanded tactics in gathering intelligence, mainly using the "feminine wiles" to

extract needed information

ii. To stop unnecessarily sending reluctant and untrained kunoichis in going to seduction missions which can eventually compromise the mission.

2. The use of seduction and intercourse in previous missions has left an equally alarming increasing rate of many kunoichis going to Konoha's Psychology and Guidance Counseling Department in the hospital. To limit and hopefully deteriorate the obvious psychological trauma brought about by these missions, Mitarashi Anko proposed that a maximum limit of 3 kunoichis be part of this Section and 1 Section Head. These three females will be the only participants in seduction missions. Lady Tsunade, Godaime Hokage of Konoha seconded her proposal.

_**Rules and Regulations**_

1. The FUCK Section will compose mainly of 1 Section Head and two kunoichis. Jiraiya-sama will function as Section Head and Advisor, while Mitarashi Anko will serve as both sensei and member.

2. Members of the FUCK Section will be officially called Fucker Agents, as what Mitarashi Anko vehemently insisted. Hokage-sama preferred them to be called Tapper Agents or Sleepers especially when on missions.

3. All agents are first and foremost shinobis and ANBU agents before they are Fucker Agents. The nature of their mission does not define them as a person.

4. Members will be partnered with other ANBU members outside of the Section. Their partner/s will be informed of the nature of their occupation prior to the start of their missions.

5. Confidentiality and Privacy of the members of this section are highly guarded. Permission to reveal the identities of FUCK Section members are granted only to the Hokage, the FUCK agent's ANBU partner and to the agent itself.

6. All agents must be non-virgins.

7. All agents are free to use any "methods" to accomplish their mission.

8. All agents are required to take birth control pills as prescribed to prevent unwanted pregnancies. All agents are also required to be subjugated to pregnancy tests after each mission and pregnancy test results will be reflected after each mission report. Psychological and medical exams are available when needed.

9. Members are not allowed to fall in love and involve themselves in romantic relationships.

Approved by:

Jiraiya-Sama (FUCK Section Head) Shizune (proxy for Jiraiya-sama / witness)

Mitarashi Anko (Section Member and Sensei)

Tenzou (ANBU Representative)

Hokage Tsunade-sama (Godaime Hokage, Konohagakure no Sato)

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**_Hokage Tower_**

After reading the proclamation being signed, Mitarashi Anko couldn't help to suppress a snicker while holding her copy of the proclamation. Shizune, who was serving tea to the Hokage looked up.

"What's gotten you so happy, Anko?" Anko couldn't help but laugh at the assistant and the Hokage's raised eyebrows. "Hahaha, those three elders are so gonna have a bitchfit when they see this! Not that I'm planning on telling them anything, but I sure as hell would be happy to see Danzo's jackassed face when he dies and discovers this little piece of gold here."

"And what's with the name? FUCK Section? Seriously, Anko?" Tenzou asked incredulously.

"Aah, shush it, Tenzou, don't be such a pussy now. And it's not like it's far from the purpose of my section. I think it's kinda clever and gives _very good_ vibes." Tenzou shook his head and remained silent.

The Hokage sipped her tea and grinned. "Those three elders give me more headaches than all of my hangovers combined. Approving a proclamation without their knowledge and withholding information will get those cranky antiques riled up. Seriously, we don't want this kind of information handed out to them. They'll exploit you and the girls, Anko. Kami knows what they'll do to you and your team."

Anko swallowed her dangos before she spoke."Tsch. They lay one finger on my team or try to interfere with us and I'll shove their pretty heads over their asses. Not gonna happen on my watch. Jiraiya-sama has already sent me the program for the training and I'm goin' to do it outside of Konoha, away from granddaddies and granny's eyes."

"Have you chosen which girls you want in your team, Anko?". Tenzou, who was sitting opposite Anko interjected.

Anko paused for a moment, her dango stick poked her cheeks as if in serious thought of what she will say. "I was thinking if Uzuki Yugao will be available, I dunno, the dove's been depressed since Gekko Hayate died. The other member, hmm, I will have to ask permission from Hokage-sama if she will approve that I train a younger shinobi. You know, sex is a bang because there's variety. " Tenzou choked on his tea while Anko could only roll her eyes over his reaction. She turned and faced Tsunade for her decision. "So what would you say, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade placed her elbows on her desk, her well-manicured fingers intertwined and her chin placed above her hands. "Actually, I've been thinking about giving this girl a proposition. She's shy and plagued with low self-esteem. She needs the push, Anko, and I think you'll level up her confidence."

"Really? Who's the lucky fledgling?". Anko voiced, obviously curious.

"Shizune! Grab the folder that I've been telling you to keep guard!" Tsunade shouted to her assistant, while she grabbed a bottle of sake from her drawers. She placed them on the table, handed cups to Tenzou and Anko. "I need to drink now, and I think you two will also need it after I tell you this. Drink up, Tenzou, you need this more than Anko." Tenzou and Anko could only accept the Hokage's offer.

Shizune came back with the shinobi file, slightly uncertain of the Hokage's plan. She handed the folder to Anko. Tenzou glanced at the kunoichi's name and could only remain silent as Anko read through the file.

"You want me to train her? Are you sure, Hokage-sama?" The surprised Anko couldn't hold herself from asking.

"Yes, and I want you to keep this a secret. Not everyone's fully aware of her situation. An uproar is the last thing we need right now, seeing that she's only been gone for 3 months. Not to mention the fragility of your training." The Hokage answered.

"But Hokage-sama, she's _dead!_" Anko retorted in a whispered voice.

The Hokage shook her head. She looked back at Anko and Tenzou who were still waiting for her reply. Shizune stood behind the Hokage, ready for whatever materials her Hokage wanted. "That's what's been reported, but I assure you, she is not. A friend of the old man found her being chased and pulled some strings to make it look like she's dead. She realized that the girl's status is important to Konoha, being the heiress and all, and she made sure that the old man knew of it. I got hold of her letter when I arrived, and we've been in contact ever since."

Tenzou frowned. "The girl was chased? I thought she was kidnapped and killed, that her body was burned to crisps and only her hita-ite was the only thing they could recognize."

The Hokage looked grim before she spoke. "She was not kidnapped, as what most have presumed. She was chased, and lucky enough the old man's friend and her brother intervened." She took a large gulp from her sake before she spoke. "She was chased by two of Danzo's boys. Danzo's calm now when we reported that she was dead."

The room suddenly fell silent. The revelation of Danzo's involvement over the girl's misfortune hit them in waves.

Anko broke the the silence. "So I must train the girl now. I assume the fledgling's still with the Sandaime's friend?"

Tsunade nodded. "She still can't come home, I don't want her to, not with that bastard looming in Konoha's underground tunnels. She's safer there, and as you said you want to train outside of Konoha." She looked at Tenzou. "We might need you to train her too. Drag that lazy friend of yours sometime so both of you can teach her and improve her jutsus. Prepare her for what's to come." Tenzou nodded. The slug princess dismissed them, and he disappeared into a puff of smoke.

Anko stood up and looked at the Hokage and bowed. " Gotta pack for my solo mission, Tsunade-sama. Will make sure our fledgling gets to be trained well so she can kick and aim hard for Danzo's nuts. May I know where she is?"

The Hokage gave her a smile and handed her a piece of paper. "Have a nice trip to Suna."

Anko smiled and turned to exit her office. "Well, well, well, Suna it is."

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A/N : Rated M for possible gore, violence and , uh, compromising situations ;)

Thank you for reading... Please Rate and Review! :)


	2. Chapter 2

A/N

Sorry, I forgot to put a disclaimer on the previous entry. This disclaimer affects previous and future chapters of this fanfiction.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

With the nature of Hinata's position, it may appear that her character is OOC, but, I will say this as early as possible that the story will reveal itself and there will be explanations as to her obvious change in behavior, why the change as well as the change in her confidence and personalities (yes, that's plural). So if you think that Hinata is not the Hinata we usually see on the series, allow this humble noobie of a writer to explain as the story unfolds and let creativity express itself. :D

For the M rating, there is expected gore and violence, as well as smut and lemon/s - again mainly because of the plot.

So I hope you will enjoy my story, and will be surely pleased for your reviews and critics.

Rate and Review, please :)

Thank you very much! :)

**Warning : Smut ; and this chapter is quite lengthy. Also there is a time skip from the Prologue. This chapter is now set a week before Shippuden starts**

Here is Chapter 1

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Chapter 1

_**Yugakure no Sato (Village Hidden in Hot Water)**_

"Genma, what's the status?"

The toothpick on his mouth shifted from the right to his left – his replacement for his senbon was the first bad thing in this place. Things were getting raunchy, and downright suffocating in this bar. The scent of heavy musk among the dingy customers and the strong scent of tobacco and alcohol invaded his senses, and Genma wasn't happy about it. This was the last place he would want to be right now, and the amount of shady, paranoid, angry men in the bar was obviously getting on his group's nerves. The six scantily clad waitresses who wore only panties were practically whores, and the few clothed (three to be exact) were obviously hostages on the brink of peeing their pants out of horror, or possibly raped was not an arousing scene. Too many people guarded the place, some were fucking on the walls, and other customers were high on whatever illegally obtained drugs they were on. There's just too many going on in this place. And it would only make this mission – this test – all the more dangerous and difficult. Not that he could complain out loud, seeing that this was his and Raidou's final test before becoming full-fledged Konoha ANBUs.

Sure, he was not in his usual attire, and surely not in his usual jovial character. The amount of security their target imposed on the bartender/owner was just too much. Clad only on a simple navy blue shirt, dark pants, worn out windbreaker and sandals, some traveling bags and clothes, his Leaf hita-ite gone and his chocolate-colored hair tied on a sloppy ponytail, he certainly could pass as a travelling man who unfortunately decided to stop on a shady bar for rest. He had already booked a room upstairs to go with his guise. He slowly lifted his beer to his mouth using his left hand, pretended to drink and spoke on his conceiled microphone to his leader.

"Place is sticky with Hiro's bodyguards, two on the bartender's side at 12'o clock; Two more on the foot of the stairs on 6. Four are upstairs looking down on the bar. Three are pretending to be customers at 4. Two fucking senseless at 9, three possible hostages including the owner on the bartender's side still at 12, his daughters I suppose – and yeah their clothed, about the only thing that seems normal in here. To put the cherry on top, every other customer seems to be drugged, making out, and lost in tobaccos and alcohol in this hellhole," his assessment finished in a singsong.

"Can you tell how many of Hiro's people are actually in the building, Tori-san?" said his leader over the earphone.

"Including the people that Genma-san counted, there are ten more upstairs on the fifth room to the right. Two bodyguards are on the front of the room; One on each corner of the building, a total of 29. 28 chakra's are highly spiking, very agitated. The only one that's different is the one upstairs, Neko-senpai. All are male except for one." The calm voice over their earphones belonged to another examinee, Tori was her name.

She was a wallflower, Raidou once said. Soft-spoken, very specific in honorifics, gentle. Both he and Raidou only met her this morning. She was ordered by the Godaime to immediately go with them after she finished her last mission. Silky indigo hair that fell 'til her waist, a short stature that reached only to Genma's shoulders, and footfalls that can only be heard by the most sensitive of ears. She was engulfed in an overly huge navy blue jacket though, a black shirt underneath, standard shinobi black pants and sandals: no way to accurately discern her body type. A navy blue mask covered her forehead, half of her nose and eyes – though he can't identify the color of her irises; her button-up nose and cute lips and slender neck were the only features visible. She was a sensory type, that much they can conclude – but her other shinobi skills were still a mystery. They were fairly being natural with her, even their senpai. She doesn't seem to be appalled by the sometimes (heavily) perverse nature of his and Raidou's conversations, and they even caught her snickering or hiding a giggle to their antics. Other kunoichis might have been on their throats by now, but she just smiles knowingly, meaning she caught their drift.

"How are the traps you've laid, Raidou?" Neko-senpai's voice brought him out of his musings.

"Ready when you all are, " came his best friend's voice.

"Okay. When Shinpachi Hiro comes out with his mistress, we'll wait a few minutes before we commence to plan," Neko-senpai commanded.

Shinpachi Hiro, a once S-Cass criminal of Sunagakure who slaughtered fifteen civilians because they refused him to enter a bathhouse in Konoha 15 years ago. He's been on the run ever since, and decided along the way to help rogues in smuggling civilians, illegal drugs and explosives from one country to another. He's 5 ft. 8 inches tall, brown hair, lanky body and gaunt-like face. He has a scar that ran diagonally on his left ear. He has been reported to be very paranoid, as evidenced by the amount of bodyguards present. He has other people taste his food and drink fluids just to make sure that they aren't poisoned. But every man has his weakness, and his weakness has just been exposed two days ago by one of Konoha's informants to the ANBU – and that weakness is his brunette drunkard mistress. All of his personal guards are reportedly _less_ guarded when the woman is around.

It was a simple plan, basically: spike, wait and strike. Genma will pretend to be drunk, make a fool of himself, spike the mistress's drink with poison, mistress gets sick, Hiro accommodates mistress, goes back to his room and attack commences. Spike. Wait. Strike. Fuck, yeah. Easier said than done.

There was an outcry from one of the tables, and everyone looked at the foot of the staircase.

There was Hiro with his guards, and a scowling blonde woman who was clad only in her panties. Shit just hit the fan. It was not his mistress. And his face is extremely agitated, from Genma's point of view.

"Fuck. The girl's not his mistress. And he's batshit angry." Genma spouted to his comrades.

"So he's more paranoid than usual? That can't be ideal to our plan." His partner continued for him.

The ANBU member was silent for a while. A heavy sigh was heard on all their earphones. "We must formulate another plan then. If Genma spikes the girl's drinks he might just leave the girl right there coz he doesn't care and he'll command his guards to search the area."

Nobody spoke for almost 3 minutes, everyone swallowed on their own thoughts until a soft voice rang through their earphones.

"Neko-senpai, I'll back Genma-san up."

Everyone was stunned when the soft-spoken Tori voiced her decision.

"Are you sure, Tori?" Their leader's voice was full of worry. Genma and Raidou were concerned and curious as to what her plan was.

"Hai, senpai. I'm sure. But I need 5 minutes, uhm, to 'prepare'." Prepare for what? Raidou was raising his binoculars to the window where he can easily see Genma swirling his beer. He too was contemplating on what their female comrade said. They don't want to lose their lead on this guy, and sure as hell they would not compromise this mission and their possibility of being promoted from Special Jounin to ANBU just because of the absence of the bastard's mistress.

An exasperated sigh escaped from their leader. "If you say so, Tori. We'll give you 5 minutes, and 5 minutes only, God knows the extent of Hiro's attention span is. Now go do what you need to do, we'll keep watch."

"Hai. Arigatou." Scurrying was heard over their earphones. Well, that was unexpected, Raidou thought. They haven't heard of the kunoichi before, and have no information of her skills. So far she's been hiding from her location pretty well. They waited for 5 excruciating minutes, and thankfully enough Hiro was still in the bar drinking, albeit from Genma's table she was mostly ignored.

"Raidou, Genma. Let's keep our eyes peeled and ears opened. Hopefully we'll be done in an hour, an hour and a half max. Hiro might bolt out of this in in two hours, might as well wrap this up fast. Be wary of distractions, and wait for my instructions. We'll continue communicating through our microphone and earphones. Raidou, our positions and plans will stay the same." The ANBU member instructed. "And Genma, whatever happens, do what Tori tells you." He finally added reluctantly.

"Hai". Both special jounins said in unison. _Whatever the hell this is, might as well go with the flow_. Genma said to himself.

"Okay. There's a cloaked figure coming to the front of the door. That's Tori." Neko-senpai said. Raidou positioned his binoculars, and he saw a cloaked figure entering the inn. Genma was eyeing for Hiro's movements when the door opened. When Genma and Raidou both turned to their comrade, their jaw dropped when the kunoichi took of her hood and placed them on Genma's table.

The girl – no, woman – who approached Genma could not have been Tori. Her silky tresses were messily arranged, as if she was out for a party. Her mask was hidden behind big, black sunglasses, and she wore lusty red lipstick that complemented with her blushing cheeks. His eyes went down to her neck, and down to her – OH GOD – her tight purple sundress with thin straps that hugged her oh-so-ample breasts that revealed light lavender lace bra. It doesn't take a genius to figure out if she was excited or not because her fucking perked nipples are there, oh shit, _there_! Her dress framed her slender shoulders and beautiful collarbones, exposing her creamy complexion. The sundress, no, that can't be called a sundress it's a fucking nightgown if it only reached midthigh, Genma thought. He literally gasped when eyed her curvy hips which lead to toned, milky thighs that he mused were quite ready for some licking. To complete her look she wore black wedge shoes that gave her small stature a few inches taller. Genma gulped, his adam's apple visibly bobbed along his dry throat. To say that he was _extremely_ aroused was the understatement of the century. Shit, he could die a happy man whether this mission failed or not, screw ANBU Admission! This could be the best day of his goddamned shinobi life!

"Jeez, Genma, stop being a mute ass and say something, stupid!" Raidou shouted, clearly exasperated over his friend's lack of focus.

"_Fuck, babe, where the hell have you been?" _Genma breathily asked the little minx. If it was a question directed to Tori or if he was asking himself, no one bothered to ask further. Quick as a fox, the woman immediately went ahead and got into character. She slowly touched Genma's right hand, and slowly glided her small hands to his shoulders. She slowly positioned herself between Genma's legs and sat on his right thigh. Her hands looped at the back of his neck. By reflex, his hands enclosed on her small waist, and Genma couldn't help but appreciate the uncensored view of her cleavage.

She giggled, her plump lips tempting to be kissed. "Sorry, nothing to worry about. Something just came up," she bit her lower lip, her eyes looked downcast to his tented trousers, and Genma couldn't decide if he's going to be embarrassed by the situation or happy for the obvious sexual innuendo. Neko-senpai coughed over their earphones. Raidou snorted.

"Play along. Act like a submissive lover." Her husky whisper to his right ear gave him the chills. Was that an order? Hell. Two can play the game. He smiled to her, and she knowingly smiled back.

She cupped his face and Genma prepared himself for the inevitable bliss.

Her lips were soft, and the kiss was light. She tasted like strawberries and vanilla. She kissed his upper lip, and then his lower lip, slowly dragging his lower lip with her teeth. She pushed his head closer, and licked his lips with her tongue, asking permission for entrance. Genma opened his mouth, and allowed the vixen to control their pace. For all his life he's never been submissive, but this_, this vixen,_ he'll play along just fine. She ravished his mouth, darted her tongue and explored wantonly. She sucked his tongue and continued to kiss his equally hungry lips. Genma invaded her mouth with his tongue, and he felt himself shiver as Tori gave a long and loud moan in between kisses. They continued their ministrations until they both parted and gasped for air. She leaned backwards and guided Genma's lips to her neck. His hands stroked her sides up and down, and his thumb brushed against her ribs and the undersides of her breasts. She placed her right cheek against his left cheek, and spoke to her leader.

"Is he watching, Neko-senpai?" How could she still think rationally while doing this? Where did this woman come from? Genma simply had no clue. "No, he isn't." The woman sighed, and without warning, slowly changed her position and straddled his partner. She grinded her core to Genma's groin, and smiled when Genma loudly moaned with pleasure with the contact. She leaned more and forcefully grabbed his head and directed it her bountiful breasts, and he swiftly placed both his hands to her toned back, rubbing circles to her lower back. He glided his hand to her upper back, expertly unclipped the hook of her lavender bra, and shoved the bra straps to her shoulders. With the bra displaced, he licked the creamy skin of her cleavage and alternately sucked and nipped it. He smiled before he continued sucking the obviously flushed orbs, pleased that he could draw out moans of ecstasy from his partner. He could actually see her pink and pert nipples ready for the taking. His right hand glided to her knees, and slowly crept to her thighs while he licked a bruise on her cleavage. She pushed her breasts to his hard chest, grinded her core to his clothed member while moaning as he caressed his thumb on the sides of her delicate panties. They were obviously making out now in the middle of the fucking bar, and Genma couldn't care less of what other people were thinking or doing, because he's very, very happy with what he was doing, better yet – _who_ he was doing.

He looked at the face of his partner, eyes half-lidded with lust, mouth parted and her cheeks flushed, this enchanting view only contributed to the happy twitching of his already aroused member. As he was getting ready to suck her left nipple to his drooling mouth, a harsh bang was heard on their table and Genma's dark eyes opened, looked up at the crushed furniture, and lazily darted to the man who dared to interfere in their sexual exploits.

His eyes met with an angry, frustrated, and obviously flustered Shinpachi Hiro.

They finally got the fuckface's attention.

Bingo.

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How was it?

Dunno if people will be pleased by this. but Reviews are always welcome :) thanks

Special thanks to_ mrstoy_ for the first review :)


	3. Chapter 3

A/N

Hi, everyone! Here I am again to for Chapter 2 of "The Sleeper".

I would like to thank mrstoy for the reviews, favorite and follows. :)

Would also like to express my gratitude to _Aria52, _ , Piisa, PresentDayPresentTime, firegoat, ilovekoga for following my story. Thanks a bunch, guys!

and now for the reviews :

mrstoy and ilovekoga - Thanks, it's actually the first time I've ever written smut. Hope you weren't bored about it. I'll keep updating whenever I can :)

firegoat - I have already planned who are Hinata's ANBU partner/s, I do hope that this Chapter will answer your questions. ^_^

Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto.

**Warning: Limey Smut. And some violence.** **And that the chapter is lengthy. No proofreading, just type and type and let go. :D**

Hope you'll enjoy! Here's Chapter 2

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Both Genma and Tori stopped to look at Hiro, both confused.

"What do you want?". Genma was shocked at Tori's authoritative tone when she spoke asked Hiro, but he continued to sport his confused expression. Tori's face was now contorted to express her irritation, and he could not help but to appreciate the cuteness of her plump and bruised lips.

"I've been standing here for the last 3 fucking minutes, and all you do is make out with pretty boy here. I've been asking you to come to my table and what did you do? Continue to ignore me as if I'm nobody!". Tori rolled her eyes, pecked Genma's lips with a chaste kiss and stood up. She took her time in readjusting her bra and sundress, and Genma did not miss the way Hiro's lustful eyes followed the woman's movements. The Konoha shinobi inwardly smirked, and came to appreciate the woman's techniques: Sly and subtle, but definitely effective. Tori smirked and cocked her left eyebrow to Hiro. She folded her arms against her chest, which only emphasized her ample breasts.

"We don't have anything to talk about, I came here to spend time with my boyfriend, not with a nobody like you." She scanned Hiro from head to foot, obviously displeased with what she saw. "Besides, I'm not into manipulate aggressive men like you, I like the submissive ones." She smiled to Genma, ignoring Hiro's astounded face. "Come on, babe, get your things and let's head upstairs." Her teammate could only follow. He hurriedly gathered his bags and held her outstretched hand. They rushed upstairs, and headed to the room Genma booked.

When they were inside the room, Tori hurriedly turned the lights on, locked the door and faced a befuddled Genma. Seeing her serious warned him that something was up. She inhaled a deep breath before she explained her plan to her comrade. "We only have five to seven minutes before he comes and forces himself into this room. When he comes into this room, he'll obviously want you out of here. When your out, I want you to put up a sound barrier outside , so he won't be able to hear what's going on downstairs when Neko-senpai and Raidou-san commence their assault. Is that okay with you, Neko-senpai?"

"Affirmative. Genma, you'll continue to do what Tori tells you and clear that floor when you encounter any of his men. Back us up downstairs and Tori will deal with Hiro. Is that clear, Raidou, Genma, Tori?" Neko-senpai's voice rang clear to them. "Hai", they simultaneously replied.

Tori dragged Genma to the king-sized bed situated in the middle of the room and pushed him down. If it weren't for the situation they were in, he could easily see himself getting comfortable with Tori in this kind of room all night long. But now is not the time for him and his perverted thoughts, this mission is only halfway through and damn it to hell they must all finish this. He mentally noted to ask the woman if she can go out with him after all of this, and maybe things will lead to another round of the make out session downstairs and possibly more? He could only hope later.

"Strip now, leave your boxers on." How did he know he wore boxers? He could only look to her and see that she too was stripping, her back facing him. She hurriedly tore her sundress off her body, and ruffled her messy hair with her hands. She bent and removed her shoes, giving him a perfect view of her ass and a glimpse of what she might want to offer. It only made his arousal hurt more. He mentally swore and quickly rid himself of his clothing sans his boxers. His clothes were thrown above hers, and he placed his hidden kunai and senbon patch on top of the clothing pile. He fumbled on his sandals, his fingers visibly tingling with excitement. Before he could face her, she had already yanked him to bed, positioned his hand on her waist and straddled him just above his shaft. Genma hissed at the view: hot kunoichi who wore a pair of laced underwear, possibly on the verge of having sex with a perverted and highly aroused ANBU aspirant to oblivion.

He raised his hands to her slender waist, taking note of the red tattoo just below her bellybutton. He couldn't help but lick his dry lips in anticipation, his heart obviously beating more than a hundred beats per minute. He lightly traced her back, and noted a deep, long diagonal scar an inch beside her right shoulder blade, all the way to her lower back. Examining closer, he noted that she also had another black tattoo of a three-clawed bird just below her left breast. Was that an eagle or a crow? This girl is definitely full of surprises.

He gently thumbed the weird tattoo which earned him a purr from his teammate. She placed her hands on his toned abs, and slowly crawled them to her hardened pale chest, arousing his nipples. He could literally feel the tingling sensations brought about by her palms, and he reflexively gripped her waist to stop himself from taking her right there.

"Be as loud as you can, Genma-san. Are you ready?". Genma could only nod and looked up to her flushed face. From embarrassment or arousal, nobody fucking cares, he's in a zenith now. She placed a chaste kiss to his chest, and started her slow torture of humping her comrade.

Genma loudly moaned, her ministrations testing his already thinning patience. He cupped her breasts and met her humping with equally erotic thrusts. Her head fell backwards, her mouth opened, she placed her hands above Genma's and growled her frustration and desire.

"G-Genma!" all formalities were forgetten as she sensually moaned, her hands limp and eyes half-lidded. Both were slick with sweat and saliva, and he could feel that the room temperature notched a degree or two. He slowly raised his torso, and invaded her neck with bites and licks and kisses. He growled when he saw teeth marks and the formations of bruises on her slender neck. He licked and sucked the skin where her pulse beat erratically, and made his way to his neck. Her left hand grabbed and pulled his hair, her right hand taking leverage of his broad shoulders while her toned legs were clamped to his waist. She continued to thrust her core to his groin, and they both released moans of pleasure before their lips and tongues met once again for a prolonged kiss.

The door suddenly opened in a loud bang, and their target hurriedly entered the room. They quickly ended their kiss with a loud smack, and remained in position for quite some time, both gasping for breath from their strenuous activity.

Tori slowly sat up and freed herself from Genma's body, much to the latter's dismay. She pulled herself out from the bed and faced the lustful bastard.

"I'm busy. I already told you I don't like aggressive men, what is it that you want now?" Her authoritative tone present again. His mouth was contorted while he faced Genma, but when he faced her, his lips trembled and his hands shook. "I will do everything, if you spend the night with me. Say anything and dump pretty boy here and be with me." His words were slowly enunciated, as if he was forced to plead, and clearly this man was not used to pleading to others. All hail the mighty and aggressive Shinpachi Hiro. Tsch. Fucking bastard.

Tori smirked. "Anything?"

"Anything." He replied breathily.

Tori turned and eyed Genma. He half-heartedly pouted his lips, but his eyes revealed that he understood her signal to get ready.

She faced an expecting and excited Hiro, crossed her chest and gave him a sweet smile. "Well, why don't you get down on your knees, bow to me and kiss my right foot first." She placed her right foot infront of him. His eyes traveled from left to right, and Genma could only contain himself from laughing at the missing nin's confusion. The bastard who made his way to Konoha's Bingo Book was reduced to a begging imbecile because of a woman who wants to get her foot kissed. Nothing could get any humiliating than that!

"My patience is waning," and for dramatic effect, she tapped her right foot in front of him. The missing nin stood still for a second, and as a sign of defeat, slowly lowered himself to the ground. He placed his hands in front of him and bowed his head. He raised his head again, and gently kissed her right foot. He was about to rouse himself to stand, when a foot was placed on his back.

"Nuh-uh, I still have to break up with him." She glanced a standing Genma and smiled, triumph obviously plastered on her masked face. "Sorry, babe, I'm just not that into you anymore. Now scuttle fast and get out of here!". Genma hurriedly wore his pants and while he was hiding his kunai and senbon patch from Hiro's view, he accidentally grabbed Tori's sundress and left the room without his sandals and shirt. Before he closed the door, his eyes traveled to Tori and their eyes met. He gave his usual jovial smile and shut the door. He scanned the corridor, and noted the absence of the bodyguards. He made quick hand seals and created a sound barrier as instructed. "Neko-senpai, the barrier has been placed". He mentally pictured Neko-senpai signaling Raidou to attack, and sure enough a few seconds later, he could hear a shout followed by the scuttle of people and the sound of dragged chairs downstairs.

He placed a senbon on his mouth and handled a kunai with his right hand. He ran limply towards the stairs, mentally cursing Kami and himself. Now he knows how fucking hard it is to run with an aroused penis!

* * *

Hiro was happy, and he could not stop smirking after finally getting what he wanted. Alone in this room, nothing could possibly stop him from fucking this marked girl and make her shout his name all night long. Screw formalities and what's-her-name, the only thing that mattered to him was _his name_ on her mouth and his shaft deep inside her core and every other orifice possible. The possibilities were endless, and he could feel himself getting giddy for the night to come. His excitement must have been blatantly obvious, for the lovely lady crept closer to him and placed her hands on his shoulders and slowly rubbed them. He moaned from the feel of her fingers on his tense shoulders, and when he bowed his head for a kiss, the woman placed her finger on his lips and whispered to his ear.

"Why don't you lie on your stomach, and I'll give you the best back massage you will ever have…And then we can do something else, would you like that?" Her warm breath caressed his ears, and he was drowned by her enticing voice. Without further ado, he nodded himself and allowed her to grab his hands and drag him to bed. She instructed him to strip, and in a flash he was in in his birthday suit, standing proud in all his naked glory. She gave a wide smile, and as instructed he crawled to the center of the bed. Getting ready for a massage of a lifetime, he plopped a pillow under his chin and placed his hands beside the pillow.

The woman followed suit, squatted on his lower back and secured her legs to his sides. The missing nin inwardly smiled, he could see himself reaming the woman with her on top.

"Are you ready?" the mysterious woman asked, and he could only close his eyes and nod his head. He placed his chin on the pillow, and inwardly sighed.

She caressed his shoulders, down to his shoulder blades, and his mid back, she stroked his shoulder blades in a circular motion, and gingerly placed her hands on his shoulders once again. Firm, pliant fingers kneaded his shoulders, palmed his back, and pressed his aching muscles. The kunoichi repeated the procedure three times, earning her stifling to loud grunts of positive responses to her ministrations. His erotic cries and purrs could be misinterpreted as sex moans, and if this woman can make him grouse with massages, how much more would be heard when he's already fucking her? He decided to relax, let his guard down for this moment, relish to the vixen's touch, and surrendered himself to sleep.

The next thing happened in less than 10 seconds.

With a force expected of an accomplished assassin, she snapped his neck in two, twisted his head in 180 degrees and for good measure, concentrated chakra on her right hand and pulverized his Atlas and Axis vertebra to pieces.

Shinpachi Hiro, ex S-Class criminal from Sunagakure; 5 ft. 8 inches tall, brown hair, lanky body and gaunt like face. Killed instantaneously by Konoha shinobi, sprawled dead and stark naked in bed.

"Neko-senpai, I need a kunai and bag to behead our target. What's the status?" her tone belied her previous actions, her voice was calm and confident, as if she was simply asking someone about the weather. Such is to be expected from experts. The woman silently congratulated herself for a job well done.

"Good. Raidou, get upstairs and get Hiro's head and run back as fast as you can. Tori, come down now and back me up, Genma has secured the hostages and transferred them to an inn about half a mile from here. He'll be back shortly. One of Raidou's planted paper bombs is 2 meters away from a fire that sprouted from a Katon user. Let's get out of here alive, Now, go!".

She stood up and went to the side of the bed, where she expected some pile of clothes were waiting for her. She only found Genma's shirt, her wedged shoes inappropriate for running. She hurriedly wore the shirt, and spoke to his senior.

She yanked the door and ran the corridors. She met Raidou and opened her hands. He immediately got her message and grabbed another kunai and gave it to her. While she was going down the stairs, she meet two of Hiro's bodyguards, both ready to take her down. They dashed forward, she mocked and crouched before jumping to the ceiling. She flipped herself using one foot, and immediately stabbed the guard's neck, and with her quick reflexes perfomed Jyuuken with the other guard's heart. Bodies were splayed everywhere, blood and internal organs scattered and pooled the floor and walls. Raidou and Neko-senpai seemed to have completed the annihilation inside. No signs of breathing, of gurgling throats and moans of despair were heard. All were dead.

She heard Raidou coming down the stairs, and sensed Neko-senpai's chakra just outside, apparently on his last kill of the escaping guards and other involved people who were once inside the bar. He gave her a nod and she ran out of the bar, with Raidou following her.

They all approached Neko-senpai, and ran as fast as they could. After three minutes of running, they ran into a disheveled and half-naked Genma. A few seconds later, an ear splitting sound was heard from the inn. All traces of Hiro and his minions, as well as the Konoha team's presence in the in was annihilated.

They came to stop in a clearing, and everyone took in each other's appearance. They were all panting, trying to catch their breath. Tori was still in her panties in Genma's shirt, much to Genma's pleasure. Neko-senpai's chest armor was soaked with blood, Raidou's hair, face and hands dripped with the warm liquid, and a bloody sack on his right. A half-naked Genma gestured Raidou to wipe his face with a cloth, and gave to him the only piece of clothing that slung on his shoulders – Tori's sundress. Both Genma and Tori were barefoot.

Raidou opened a scroll, and performed a summoning technique. Out came three tents and their bags.

Everyone was just thankful for the sight of their belongings, for the comfort of sleep, clothing and food, and of course the success of their mission.

"It's a good thing everyone's in complete pieces, and we get to accomplish the mission. Why don't you change into clean uniforms, eat and come back here after 15 minutes. We'll be discussing about the result of the exam and hopefully get a good night's sleep for the rest of the night. Tori, you share a tent with me." Everyone was too tired to complain, and they hurriedly set up their tents and changed their clothes.

15 minutes later, Raidou and Genma came out of with their standard shinobi clothes minus kunai pouches. They both sat on a log, watching and stoking the fire as they waited for their examiner to come out. Raidou noted the lack of senbon on Genma's mouth. All their weapons, even Neko-senpai's are yet to be cleaned and oiled. Oh, well, they can do that tomorrow.

Their ANBU leader followed soon after, clad in his ANBU uniform and Cat mask. He was handling a scroll and a pen, ANBU Entrance Exam Report visibly written on the top of scroll.

"I am very pleased with this mission, and I must say that this has been the best partnership I've seen from ANBU examinees so far. The level of teamwork and the finesse in multitasking as well as responding to situations are very commendable. We had glitches, but you were able to adjust to the circumstances, and that is definitely exemplary and needed, especially in future missions were sometimes you only come in two. Konoha ANBU definitely need more people like you, and I am very pleased to announce that you all passed. After Hokage-sama reads this report, she will be the one to give you the officially promote you and give your masks. "

Raidou and Genma were grinning now, all the hard work and embarrassing (but pleasurable) experiences really paid off. They can now go to sleep happy and contented. From Special Jounin to ANBU, life was getting better indeed.

"Now sign your prints here, and we'll be sending this report to the Hokage." Raidou and Genma bit their thumbs, and signed their names on the scroll. The masked man bit his thumb and signed the scroll as well. So that was the purpose of the uniform, for them o sign a document – a sort of ceremony for being successful examinees.

Then something hit Genma that was wrong.

"What about Tori?" their other teammate still did not come out of the tent. Was she sick or asleep? Why hasn't she signed the scroll yet?

"Oh, right. Tori, are you done?" the Cat asked the woman over the closed tent. A muffled "in a minute" came as a reply. They all sat around the far and waited for their female comrade. A minute later, the tent opened and for the second time tonight, Raidou and Genma were in for the shock of their life.

Out came Tori in her standard ninja sandals, with her standard shinobi pants. She wore a tight black spandex-like material underneath her pants that reached to her ankles, and a black long sleeve made of the same material that reached up to her wrists. She wore a baggy navy blue V-neck shirt over the elastic material. The standard green Konoha vest served as her chest armor. She even wore hand gloves similar to Kakashi's. Two wakizashis were anchored on her back.

And she wore a Crow mask.

Raidou and Genma looked at Cat in confusion.

"Ah, yes, though she may not wear the standard uniform due to her own reasons, yes, SHE is an ANBU member, and the two of us were both of your administrators for this exam." The cat-masked shinobi explained.

"Hello. You can call me Crow. Though it is still early for the official ceremony, I would like to congratulate you already. You've done well." And they could only imagine that she just gave them the sweetest smile that could both have blinded both shinobis. Her neck was like a hectare of hickeys, and her lips are still bruised and plump from her previous encounter with an excited examinee. A while ago she was moaning and humping while groping Genma, and now she's like the fucking epitome of virginity and purity and all that shit about the untouched! What the heck is _wrong_ with this woman?

She didn't hide her happiness for their success, and all three shinobis could mentally picture her looking at Genma and Raidou like a child who got her first goddamned cotton candy. Raidou wondered if he could now slap himself for ever thinking about courting and doing the woman she saw through his binoculars, when an image of a 5 year old Tori holding a cotton candy came to his mind and loudly accusing him in Konoha court on the grounds of Pedophilia and Acts of Lasciviousness. Genma was mentally muttering a litany of a thousand curses and silently reprimanded his penis for ever trying to poke and ram into the nether lips of his superior for eternity.

She bit her thumb and summoned a crow – a messenger, they guessed. The crow automatically perched to her left shoulder while she signed the scroll intended for the Hokage. She made a few hand seals and instructed the crow to immediately deliver to Tsunade-sama.

She beamed at Cat and her examinees. "It's too early for the official promotion, but I might as well say it now. Shiranui Genma. Namiashi Raidou. Welcome to Konoha ANBU."

And she outstretched her hand, and they could only dumbly return it with a handshake.

Cat, who was grinning from ear to ear, couldn't be happier. He has never had the most perverted, exhilarating, and successful ANBU examination ever.

Everyone else assumed that Crow was just another chuunin / jounin level kunoichi.

Well it be damned.

_Assumption is the mother of all fuck-ups._

* * *

_**Konoha Hospital, a few days later**_

"Kami-sama must have been in my good graces, Yamato. I would _never_ have imagined that I'll see the day that this herd of perverted lions would come and visit another perverted dog here. Usually I see them all in the local bar, not cramping here on the hospital with Kakashi! What the heck has got your panties in a bunch?"

A maskless Yamato tightened his hold of his nose bridge, he felt like he was going to have the worst headache ever. He's comfortable with Kakashi (even when he's droopy and bedridden), a loud Anko he can manage, but a too-blissful Genma, a depressed Raidou and a brooding Yamashiro Aoba? It's just too much.

An exasperated sigh came out of Raidou's mouth. "Genma's acting too happy ever since the ANBU exam, that "fuck face" expression of his, Kami-sama knows how hard it is for me to keep my hands from ripping that face off!" Genma snorted but remained silent.

Anko directed her gaze to the other shinobi. "And what about you, Aoba? You don't have anything to do with these two idiots regarding their exam, you've made ANBU six months ago! Hell knows I've never known someone brooding like that ever since that Uchiha brat!" Aoba released an even deeper sigh.

"Tsch. Raidou here doesn't have to get that depressed, at least she's seen Tori-san in her underwear. Genma was lucky enough to nearly have his way with her. But what about me? Yeah, we had the same type of unfortunate mission, but no! I didn't get to pretend to be Tori-san's boytoy, unlike this lucky bastard here! The only excitement I got to have during my ANBU exam was Tori-san in her kimono and a lazy-assed Kakashi wearing a haori shoving his tongue on her throat! They were snogging, Anko, and we never got to see Kakashi's face, let alone Tori's!" That was one hell of a mouthful, but Aoba definitely didn't want to bottle up his frustration anymore. Everyone looked at Kakashi and awaited his reply.

He slowly closed the latest _Icha-icha Tactics_, a gift he received earlier from one of his students, and looked at everyone with his usual lazy-eye expression. "We were the examiners, Aoba, and Tori-chan has explicitly verbalized that she has a lot of trust in me, and we intend to play our role perfectly. Besides, you've passed the ANBU exam, so no point in trying to look underneath the underneath. No point in making senseless things here and there. As what Tori-chan once said 'Assumption is the mother of all fuck-ups'." He opened his book once again and continued reading.

"By the way, I've been looking for her all over Konoha, but I've not seen her anywhere. Have you seen her, Aoba?" Genma asked. Aoba chuckled. "Stop trying to rub it in our face, Genma, and no, I haven't seen her. What about you, Yamato?"

Yamato who was quietly listening to their banter, cleared his throat and spoke. "Tori-chan is currently indispensable. She hasn't contacted me ever since the exam." Raidou raised both of his hands, as if to surrender. "Kakashi and Yamato's been calling her Tori-chan, I think that pretty much indicates some sort of intimacy don't you think, Genma? And they won't even reveal who and where she is right now, and in which ANBU section she's assigned to. Let's just stop stalking her for Kami's sake and move on."

Genma adjusted his senbon and looked at Raidou sideways. "For now. But I still think she looks hot now I know that she's got a fetish for role playing and cosplay." Everyone just groaned, while Anko released her loudest cackle and stood up.

"You're all petty fools! Haha! Stop trying to get into a girl's pants that might not want a boyfriend! And for all you know underneath all that is a girl twice your age, or worse, _half_ your age! Hokage-sama will be going nuts and will have your throats served on a silver platter anytime of the day! Now let's all go and give Kakashi some rest here! Resume your petty and perverse conversations amongst yourselves and move! Oh, and Yamato, here are some messages concerning that ANBU partner of yours, if ever you see her, wouldya give her that? Thanks, bye!" She shoved a scroll on Yamato's hands. Genma, Raidou and Aoba exchanged goodbyes with Kakashi and Yamato while they were being shoved outside of the room by the manic Anko.

When their four friends were out and Kakashi and Yamato were left alone, they immediately went to business. "So now your name is Yamato, Tenzou?"

"Hai, Kakashi-senpai. And I'll be temporarily handling Team Seven while you are recuperating here. Aside from us being her ANBU partners, I also have to handle another new Team 7 member that will replace Uchiha Sasuke. One that comes from Root."

Kakashi's face suddenly became serious. "I'm sorry to have placed you on such a tight schedule, Tenzou. You have to serve both here and Suna, and handle two different groups at the same time. Not to mention Danzo's been pushy about that Root appointment in my team. "

Yamato shook his head. "That's currently being taken cared of by Hokage-sama. And I'm pretty sure we'll both be able to alternate and adjust our schedules to accommodate team 7 and her." He paused for a while and smiled. "Speaking of which, I'll be meeting with her summon at the usual spot and meet with her in Suna. Apparently with the latest death of Lady Chiyo, Hokage-sama has provided me with a mission to meet the newly revived Kazekage and talk with him on her behalf." Kakashi nodded. He pulled out a piece of scroll and started to write.

"Kindly give this to her, and explain my condition. I may not be able to come to ANBU missions with her for a while. And you might as well meet my team once you get back from Suna." Yamato nodded and made a beeline to the door. With everything that's been going on with Konoha, Suna and Akatsuki, this trip could possibly change the future. This trip to Suna is indeed going to be one hell of a ride.

* * *

A/N

How was it? a bit anticlimactic, but hey, I'm happy that next chapter, we get to see Hinata and introduce Gaara and his siblings.

Reviews, anyone? :D I definitely need some help and criticism.

thanks a lot for reading and see you next chap!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N

Thanks to _**TheCrimsonAlchemist99**_ for following my story.

_**ilovekoga**_ - thanks for the review. haha. i know what you mean, her traditional family's reaction to this line of work is.. well, we shall see :) I am more of a reader than I am a writer, and the thing that pushed me to write this fanfiction is that it has been bugging me even when I'm at work, and it gets kinda difficult to concentrate O_O. Too many ideas were buzzing in my head at one time that I was forced to create the prologue and put it into writing during lunch time. For my sanity's sake, I even uploaded them the same day.

I am very thankful that people reviewed. I really do not know if a lot like this story since I only got five reviews, but I'm happy that a few are pleased and looking forward to the next chapters. Many reviews = many people are pleased, that's my mentality, and honestly I don't know where I stand. Reviews make a writer grow. I still have my doubts. Nevertheless, I continue to make them, I am _moved_ to write them, and hopefully this will fuel my brain long enough to make things interesting.

But enough of my melodrama, haha, and on with Chapter 3. The meeting. Immediately after this chapter is uploaded I will be making Chapter 4. Will upload it today.

Again, thank you for reading my story. :)

Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto.

* * *

**_Sunagakure no Sato_**

For all the times he knew of Hinata and Kakashi, Yamato had deduced that his partners were just like him: the silent type, especially when they were off-missions. Kakashi usually lost in his perverted books, Hinata mostly lost in her thoughts from cinnamon rolls to God-Knows-Where. Most of the time, he's thankful that the Hokage had provided him with the best partners: highly efficient, trustworthy, and most importantly, **_not annoying_**. When the two or three of them were silent, it was always comfortable. He's happy when they're that.

But this silence he's having with Hinata now is unnerving for him.

They are in front of the Kazekage tower now, ready to meet the Sand Siblings for their meeting and arrangement. It's already 6 pm in an ordinary day in Suna. He had stashed his ANBU uniform now, and preferred to don the standard Jounin uniform. A white poncho with a hoodie protected him from the harsh Suna weather. He glanced at his partner and sighed.

Hinata was obviously depressed and nervous. Her shoulders were off and rigid, her puffy red eyes downcast. Her index fingers met and poked with each other. He held her left elbow to get his attention and gave her a warm smile.

"You okay?" A man of few words, both him and Kakashi were. That's why they mostly convey their emotions through actions to their student-turned-partner, and Hinata is very receptive of their gestures to know what they mostly meant. And they only show it to Hinata, and Hinata alone.

She gave him a wan smile and nodded. He gave her his left hand and she accepted it with her right, her left hand clutched at her bulky backpack.

Now time for Tenzou to find some small talk for her to completely relax.

"You're wearing Kakashi's shirt." He rarely took time to comment on Kakashi and Hinata's fashion sense, and Hinata immediately knew that he's going on a limb here to make her less tense. Mask still in place, she was wearing her shinobi pants and sandals, and Kakashi's red shirt obviously two or three times her size. Her ever-present spandex tights was worn underneath her clothes. Konoha vest, her fingerless gloves, and a white poncho with hoodie similar to Tenzou's to complete the Suna look.

If Anko were to see them now, she would comment that they slightly resembled Team Jacket, a monicker she called to Hinata's Team 8.

"It brings me closer to home, Tenzou. It gives me the confidence I need, especially now." Her soft reply was grazed with the sincerest of smiles. Both Kakashi and Tenzou were highly aware of this line of reasoning. After all, they were recipients to Hinata's tendency to request (more like trick them with those puppy eyes) from each of them a shirt, especially after missions. Her backpack is loaded with Tenzou and Kakashi's shirts, wifebeaters, even old uniforms. When Kakashi isn't around with them, Hinata wears something of his. When Tenzou is away, she would wear his belongings. No questions were asked, and they're both fine with it, although their funds wouldn't agree with them sometimes. Because like every three-man cell in Konoha composed of two guys and a girl, everyone wanted to make the girl happy.

He looked back at her and squeezed her hand once. _Everything's going to be alright. _She squeezed his hand in return. _I know. _

She schooled her features to impassivity, and they both followed the guard who greeted them and guided them through the Kazekage tower. The tower was circular by structure, and they were both led to spiraling stairs and confusing twists and turns. If it weren't for their ANBU training, they might have been lost in this maze.

They stopped at a seven-foot mahogany double door, at the topmost level of the tower, their hands still clasped together. The guard was about to knock, when a Suna shinobi brushed through Tenzou's shoulders. He hurriedly walked out of the Kazekage's office and headed outside the tower. They were allowed inside, and were welcomed by the Sand Siblings.

A confident and beautiful Temari sat on the left of the Kazekage's desk, smiling at the Konoha duo. A curious Kankuro stood on the Kazekage's right, a slight sneer apparent in his face over their handholding. And a stoic Gaara sat at the middle, face unreadable and emotions unwavering. Hinata couldn't help but conclude that the Kazekage was definitely a very handso-

No, this is not the time to admire someone's facial structure! She must warn Tenzou of her discovery.

She quickly let go of his hand, and tugged at the hem of his shirt. _Something is wrong._

He tilted his head halfway, and their eyes met. _What about it?_

She tugged at the hem of his shirt, twice. _I'll handle it. _

He blinked twice. _Got it._

She smiled and bit her lower lip. _It's that "time" again. Back me up._

He smiled and looked back to the bewildered Suna Siblings. _Gotcha. Do as you must._

Nonverbal communication at its best.

* * *

To say that Kankuro was confused was an understatement. When he saw the two Konoha nins enter the office, he thought they were the weirdest duo with their matching ponchos, plus the girl wore spandex underneath that baggy outfit, for crying out loud! When his gaze fell to their holding hands, he sneered. Tsch. Lovers. Couldn't keep their hands off each other even in the front of the Kazekage? He inwardly shook his head. Then the girl took her hands off the man, was she ashamemd of their relationship? The man tilts his head to her direction, uh, he's angry now? She tugged his shirt twice, now she's asking for his forgiveness? He blinked. Twice. What the hell does that mean? Then she smiled seductively and bit her lower lip – whoaaah, nice smile, let's see how the guy reacts – he smiles and looks at Gaara. Two things crossed his mind after that exchange: The guy's going to have some after this meeting (cue: girl's sexy smile), and he couldn't get his thoughts to that particular word that described the scenario he just witnessed – befu, befud-something? Urgh, that word, something synonym with perplexed, damn it! But never mind, he'll find that frustrating word later, or Temari would snort at him again for his limited vocabulary. Speaking of Temari, he looked at her sister, and they exchanged looks, her face obviously amused by the scenario. They both looked at Gaara, and as expected his still as apathetic as always.

"Our apologies for coming in so late, Kazekage-sama. My name is Yamato, and this is my partner, Tori-san, shinobis from Konohagakure no Sato. We have come here in behalf of Godaime-sama, Lady Tsunade, to discuss certain arrangements. Hokage-sama has informed me that she had already mentioned to you the basics of this arrangement, and she has sent us here to finalize it." The matured guy named Yamato was talking to Gaara. Hmm, polite and straight to the point, he already liked this guy. He couldn't say the same to his partner though.

The girl named Tori was not paying attention to the conversation. He kept his eyes on her, and Temari was eyeing her with disdain. Gaara was busy talking and exchanging pleasantries about Konoha and the weather, and this girl couldn't for the life of her listen and stay attentive! She skimmed her hands to the walls, slowly walking to the shelf and stopped for a moment. She continued touching Gaara's office – his coffee table, the chair, and finally landed on his bookshelf on the cornermost part of the room.

She took the book placed on the second level of the bookshelf and grabbed it and opened the damned book. _The Cactus : An Illustrated Guide_. Fuck, she's interested in cactus but not in this conversation? Who the hell does she think she is? Temari was now annoyed, too, as evidenced by her scrunched nose. He was getting ready for one of her tonguelashing when suddenly a soft giggle came from the disrespectful bitch. She looked at the now-glaring Gaara who looked back at her; she smiled and focused her attention back to her comrade. The **_nerve_** of that woman!

"Tenzou." She sweetly smiled at him. Sweet my ass, who in the world is Tenzou?! Was that her kinky petname for her partner? The jerk only smiled. Are these people crazy? She pressed her lips together before she said, "You should really try to cover that hickey on your earlobe, honey, people might think that you are parading them."

Tenzou grabbed a pen and a piece of paper from his vest.

Temari's eyes widened in horror.

Kankuro's left cheek seemed to spasm.

Gaara's pen which he was holding a while ago fell to the floor.

The bitch stared intensely at Gaara.

Kami-sama, what the fuck just happened?

* * *

A/N

Short chapter, but things will get clearer for the next :)


	5. Chapter 5

A/N

As promised, here is Chapter 4 :) couldn't keep them from flowing, so before I forget them I gotta type, type, type and upload. I think two chapters for today is okay, am I right? :D?

_**Gale**_ - thanks for the review :D this chapter's the follow-up of her interaction with the Sand siblings, hope you will enjoy it, too. :D

_**Jolly88404**_ - thanks for following this story :)

_**mrstoy**_ - Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. How is the baby? I hope the angel is doing fine. It's okay that you haven't reviewed last chapter, family and health is of utmost priority :) I hope everything's fine now... and thank you always for coming back and reviewing :D

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

So here goes Chapter 4. Read and Review please :Dv they'll be very much appreciated. thanks.

* * *

Complete silence filled the room. No one was prepared to hear _that_.

Before Kankuro could intervene, the Yamato guy spoke. "I'm assuming both of us are going to take care of that after this meeting, right?". Hoho, so now the guy's encouraging her? Bullshit.

The girl nodded and glanced at Temari, their eyes met. The man placed the paper he was writing a while ago back to his vest, and grabbed another three pieces of scrolls from another pocket. He cleared his throat and spoke loudly, much to the Sand Trio's chagrin. "I have messages here, addressed to you. One, your perverted partner in Konoha's been asking for your attention, he says that bulge he's been having last time you were together has been itching for some scratch, and he also says he'll be very much pleased to meet with you again."

Shit,of all topics to be discussed, they are going to hear about this bitch's sexual escapades?

The girl quickly shook her head and retorted. "That sly dog, he's been having that same problem again? Tell him I'll give his bulge a massage once we meet again." The man she called Tenzou only nodded.

These people are obviously abnormal. What kind of dickhead would get such a straight face when hearing that answer? He was no virgin, Kankuro bemused, and he's no prude, but please, couldn't the sex talk come after more important issues involving Suna and Konoha? They're shinobi first and foremost in this office before they're hungry horndogs! Temari's intelligent, she gets the jist faster, but, Gaara, oh God! Granted that Gaara's a prodigy, and his absolute zero knowledge or interest of matters concerning sex was always laughable to both him and his sister, but now – now really is not the time for that. He was just revived a few days ago, he's adjusting, and all these Konoha shinobis do is confuse him more. He's a fucking golden pariah when it comes to social (much less sexual) conversations, for Christ's sake!

"Here's another message for you, coming from Genma and Raidou, your newly admitted fans. They want to say thank you for giving them handful treatments a few days ago, and they would just want to ask if they're now allowed to grope your ass." Temari now looked at him with a very, very tight lip, closed her eyes and - was she suppressing a chuckle? He cocked his eyebrow at her, and she only showed her palm at him and signaled to stop and keep quiet. She pressed Gaara's shoulders firmly, indicating that he should not react now, too – whatever that reaction may be. She was interested and wanted to hear this absurd turn of events. Tsk. Kankuro shook his head. _Women and their difficult minds. _

The Konoha nins seem to want them to hear this conversation. What's the catch?

"Oh, them. Haha. Almost forgot. Tell Mr. Pretty-Boy-with-the-Oral-Fixation and his sidekick Mr. Scarface that they can go and eat a dick," she casually retorted with her eyes still glued to the book.

Kankuro's frustration and anger easily dissipated at the colorful language coming from such a small girl. Temari too was holding back her laughter, cupping her hands to her mouth. Gaara seemed to be lost and looked at them blankly. Kankuro was now chuckling at the girl and his younger brother. He really is that clueless sometimes.

This girl, both Kankuro and Temari thought, she reminded them of their Chuunin exam administrator, Mitarashi Anko the witch.

"Oh, and here's the last message from Anko." The girl quickly looked at her partner. "She says that she's been trying and gathering data to make a Bingo Book about Konoha civilians and shinobi's penises. She's asking you if she would arrange them alphabetically in the book or would you rather want them arranged in such a manner that the book highlighted the importance of their penile length and bedroom prowess."

Kankuro and Temari both took audible gasps. Gaara was stoned. They had the same thoughts.

Oh. My. Fucking. God.

_I think my ears just bled_. Gaara thought.

Both Kankuro and Temari were now visibly shaking with laughter, their voices rung throughout the office. Gaara looked flustered, red as his crimson hair. He remained rooted in his seat. Even he could not escape the simplicity of the meaning implied and the audacity of one witch named Mitarashi Anko.

For the first time, the Suna Trio saw a blush form at the kunoichi's cheeks. She too must not have been prepared for that question. So what makes it different among the previous two? She visibly gulped, paused for a few seconds and composed herself again.

"W-well, if she wants to know my opinion, tell her th-that, what difference does penile length do wh-when you can't even include the man's girth? Why won't she go have a field day and find out for herself?" She placed the book at the table, her hands visibly shaking. Laughter from both Temari and Kankuro could even be possibly heard through the hallway. Her redness began to spread to her neck, and even Tenzou couldn't hide his chuckles. No one , and they mean no one, can easily beat Konoha's Mitarashi Anko's propensity for putting people in embarrassing situations.

Once the laughters faded, she silently approached her partner. To hide her embarrassment, tugged the hem of Tenzou's sleeves and nodded. Tenzou seemed to get what she was thinking. He silently formed hand signals, and they instantly saw his Mokuton clone. The clone held the kunoichi by her waist, and she placed her hands on his shoulder. They both looked at the Suna trio seriously.

They're now back to business mode.

"Kazekage-sama, Temari-san, Kankuro-san, me and my partner, with all due respect and permission, would like to retire to our chambers for our much needed sleep. Again, we are sorry for causing trouble. Thank you and good night." After the Kazekage absentmindedly nodded, she dragged the Tenzou clone out of the room and shut the door, going to God-Knows-whatever they are doing. They really couldn't figure out that woman. First she was feisty and now she's timid over what Anko said.

The three siblings faced a now serious Tenzou, who gave them a low bow. He placed a folder in the Kazekage's table. On top of the folder was a note. The note reflected Tenzou's manly penmanship which said:

_..._

_..._

_Dear Kazekage-sama,_

_With all due respect, please excuse my partner's behavior. She seemed to have identified something wrong with the situation. Please let her do what she must do together with my clone, and we humbly request that you hear her explanation later._

_Kindly pretend that I am not in this room now and continue what you do best._

_Sincerely, _

_Yamato_

...

...

All three remained silent. Temari was right, she caught on the girl's actions from the moment the Konoha nin spoke and looked at the Suna princess, and both brothers couldn't fathom how the hell did she understand with just one look? So what they witnessed a while ago was a charade? It was all well played out, and all three of them were highly impressed with the team dynamics of this two. We're they always this in sync? Their teamwork and their non-verbal communication were flawless. The level of trust and understanding in their partnership is so different, they are indeed a league of their own.

So they followed Yamato's request, the guy seemed to be pretty miffed about the situation, too. Temari continued to talk to Kankuro about something involving Suna border guards, and Gaara decided to take a look at the folder handed by the Konoha nin. This must be what the Godaime was talking about in her letter involving "arrangements", however vague it was.

He skimmed the contents, and found out that it included an ANBU profile of a Konoha shinobi. A simple table of contents was placed on the first page indicating that the folder contained the ANBU shinobi's summary and quick profile, as well as personal history, background and medical records. He flipped the first page and came face to face with two portrait images of an ANBU nin plastered on the upper right side of the paper.

The first was the masked face of Tori, Yamato's partner. The second was Tori in her Crow mask.

So the girl was from ANBU? Gaara couldn't believe what he just read. Apparently Konoha has entrusted into Suna's hands one of its best kept secrets.

Both Temari and Kankuro stopped talking once they saw the picture. Curiosity is a common trait from the Suna siblings, and apparently their previously disturbing but otherwise entertaining interaction with the Konoha representatives were peaked up by a notch by this sudden development.

Curiosity might have killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N

I'm sorry that I wasn't able to upload chapter 5 earlier, was caught up with work. It drained me. T.T

Wow! Thank you so much for the favorites, follows and reviews :D

_**Gale**_- Thank you. We will see her more in this chapter :D

_**mrstoy**_ - how are you now? sorry to hear that. I hope your flu's gone now. :) sorry to hear you choked on the water. And as always, thank you for always reading my fanfic :)

_**sailormoon1**_ - thank you :) :) and i do hope you will also enjoy this...

_**Guest**_ - you will see in this chapter what it meant :D And sorry for the pronoun mix up, English is not my primary language, and uh, I'm a lazy person especially when it comes to proofreading. I just type them and upload. Sorry for that, my mistake. :Dv

_**ilovekoga**_ - I'm also happy that you were able to enjoy this as much as i did :D I hope this one will come out okay :D thanks for always reading this fic :)

_**sinshu**_ - thanks :D I hope this will answer some of your questions, especially from the beginning :D

Thanks for the R & R, everyone :D ! I hope this chapter you will also enjoy.

* * *

_**Chapter 5**_

**Konohagakure no Sato**

**Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai**

ANBU Profile

[Marked Confidential]

**ANBU Name:** Crow [Karasu]

**Codename outside ANBU given by Lady Tsunade:** Tori [Bird]

**ANBU Division:** Commando, Intelligence and Reconnaissance Division

**ANBU Partners:** Cat [Neko]; Dog [Inu]

**Age:** 17 years old

**Gender:** Female

**Ninja Registration No. :** [Confidential]

**ANBU Prom. Age:** 15

**Academy Prom. Age:** 12

**Height:** 160 cm

**Weight:** 45 kg

**Blood type:** A

**Konoha Clan Membership:** [Confidential] and [Confidential]

**Nature Type:** Water Release, Fire Release

**Characteristic Body Markings: **

- Third degree burn, forehead – often covered by a mask which leaves the lower portion of the face visible

- Tattoo of a three-clawed crow on the underside of left breast (seen at age 15)

- Shinto tattoo, sole of right foot (seen at age 12)

- ANBU tattoo, posterior of umbilicus, strategically placed to conceal ANBU affiliation (seen at Age 15)

- Approx. 12 inch-long diagonal scar on back

- Cursed seal imprinted on tongue, near the back of the throat (seen at age 12)

**Personal & Medical History**

_Herein is Lady Tsunade's summary of the sealed letter sent by Lady Chiyo of Suna to the successor of the Sandaime Sarutobi Hiruzen, and confidential information exchanged between the Godaime and Lady Chiyo involving the shinobi whose name appears above. The letter was received three days after Jiraiya-sama came back to the village with the new Hokage, and was only opened and read by the Godaime once she resumed office. Original copies of the letters are still with the Godaime's care and perusal:_

At around 2300 hours, Chiyo-sama and Ebizo-sama, Honored Siblings of Sunagakure no Sato, were traveling 6 miles west of Konoha when they happened to come into a clearing and saw four people: one dead shinobi, one injured, one unconscious shinobi and one unconscious child.

Chiyo-sama on her letter described that the three shinobis were wearing black uniforms whose abdominal regions were exposed. From this I am to deduce that these three shinobis were indeed Konoha ANBU, specifically the Root Division managed by Konoha Elder Shimura Danzo.

The severely injured shinobi, as ANBU Protocol No. 16, performed a ninjutsu to dispose the corpse of the dead ANBU. When the Honored Siblings approached the injured shinobi, he requested that the unconscious child be treated first.

Chiyo-sama's thorough Physical Assessment of the unconscious child revealed the following injuries:

- 3rd Degree Burn, forehead

- Lacerated lip, positive evidence of cloth used to gag her mouth

- Secondary chakra burns on neck, ankles, wrists

- Broken nose

- Punctured wound, 1 inch in diameter. Point of Entry : Left thorax between the 10th and 11th intercostal space (**A/N :** _the space between your 10th and 11th left rib_)

- Pneumothorax, left lung

- Multiple lacerations: upper and lower extremities

- Multiple bruises: stomach, buttocks, anterior and posterior thighs

- Lacerated wound, approximately 1 foot in length, 0.5 cm depth; from the right shoulder blade up to 2 inches below the 12th left rib

- Positive signs of poisoning

- Possible anemia due to blood loss

Upon closer observation by both Honored Siblings, the unconscious child is related to the injured shinobi. It was later confirmed by the shinobi himself.

According to the injured shinobi who identified himself as "Eagle", the unconscious child was kidnapped from her check-up in the Konoha hospital to the ANBU Root underground and has been detained for 22 hours. Interrogation and torture for an undisclosed topic were explicitly performed to her. Eagle admitted to freeing the unconscious child. He was later chased and engaged in a battle with two Root shinobis who attempted to assassinate the child by disembowelment using a chokuto. Eagle took it upon himself to protect the child, thus resulting to a through-and-through punctured wound on Eagle's right thigh by the chokuto.

Chiyo-sama later revealed that the chokuto was glazed by a powerful poison, and that Eagle and child may die by midnight without the antidote. After hearing this revelation, Eagle, as phrased in Chiyo-sama's letter, "performed a perfect Goshu-zarei" (**A/N:** _most infrequently used bow, mainly reserved for royalty_) to the Honored Siblings and even offered one of Konoha's distinguished and rare assets as a form of collateral to ensure the child's life and survival. The retired Suna councilors agreed, partially for the child's sake and the shinobi's noble gesture, and mainly because of their deeply-seated long-term friendship with the late Sandaime. They refused to take up the shinobi's offer regarding Konoha's asset.

Eagle enunciated his plan to the councilors. He explained that he had found the antidote amongst one of the pockets of the dead shinobis, and he only had basic medical training per ANBU Protocol No. 43. He also expressed that would the Honored Siblings allow it, that the remaining unconscious Root shinobi be influenced by a genjutsu, ordering him to report to Danzo that the child was successfully assassinated. In lieu of the child's body and as "evidence" of the child's death, he will perform the harakiri and enflame himself to crisps wearing the child's hita-ite. This way, nobody will suspect that the child was successfully escorted and treated outside of Konoha.

Chiyo-sama said that while the child was treated with the antidote, a powerful genjutsu was placed by Ebizo-sama to the unconscious Root shinobi. Eagle was later given a few minutes with the still unconscious child and as planned, completed his personal mission. The unconscious child was later taken in by the Honored Siblings to Suna. Everything went according to Eagle's plan.

The day I took office as the Godaime Hokage, one of my first agenda was communicating with the Honored Siblings. Grudges and previous irks from the Second Shinobi War were set aside by both parties. A constant flow of communication between the retired councilors as well as the Hokage Office was later established.

Chiyo-sama's poison analysis confirmed her foreboding. Based on the poison reports sent by Konoha to her, the powerful poison had some chemical and structural similarities with the poisons made by Orochimaru.

Orochimaru, according to Jiraiya's reports, had once been partnered with a red-head shinobi before the Snake Sannin left Akatsuki. Chiyo-sama immediately responded and explicitly worded that the aforementioned red-head may have been her grandson, Sasori of the Sand, also an S-Rank Missing Nin.

Chiyo-sama and Ebizo-sama volunteered to take care of the Konoha kunoichi.

Orochimaru's possible involvement with Danzo could not be established without giving-out the contents of this report, thus the inaction from the Hokage office.

Up to this writing, the kunoichi is living under the retired Suna Elder's household and guidance. Both elders had already acknowledged that the kunoichi is the only student of Chiyo-sama's since Sasori.

Signed,

Tsunade, Godaime Hokage

**Psychological Profile**

[Marked Confidential]

They were too absorbed from the report that they failed to see they had spent almost thirty minutes rereading and taking in everything the Hokage wrote. This kind of reports from their allied Hokage was just too much for one reading to suffice.

Shouts could be heard outside the Kazekage Tower. Temari approached the window that overlook the entire Suna village, and was shocked by the mob that formed outside the tower. She could make out the form of two Suna guards dragging a handcuffed man inside the tower. A few other people seemed to follow the guards' lead. Their sensei, Baki was clad in his jounin uniform, his tall frame menaced over the other shinobis. She couldn't make out his expression, but judging from his composure and his brisk walk, things were definitely bad.

"A mob has formed outside the tower, Gaara. I think it's safe to say that they're coming this way."

She looked at his youngest brother and couldn't stop herself from being exasperated. Days after his revival and he has no time to rest. The workload he left while he was captured was nothing to the emotional turmoil she knew his brother was having now. Suna problems were the least of their worries.

She peered to his brother's face. A tired expression marred the features of the young Kazekage. When news about the extraction of Shukaku came to their knowledge, she and Kankuro practically had to temporarily abandon their responsibilities to aid their brother, not that they minded it. If there's one thing that Gaara isn't good at, it is in how he deals with something new. Physical presence and emotional support, yes, they can give that willingly. But another demon has plagued their beloved brother after Shukaku was gone. And obviously it has now taken its toll.

Gaara doesn't know how to sleep. He has not been asleep ever since he came back. His being is still adjusting to these drastic changes. The absence of Shukaku has visibly taken his brother's already abysmal insomnia into full throttle. She doesn't think that his new juubi-less body will be able to cope up with the stress his body longed for. She feared that she would find Gaara one day in his office unconscious (or God forbid, in a coma) when his cells finally gave up from too much exhaustion.

And Temari thought that this Konoha issue has only added to Gaara's heavy burdens. If what she knows of the Hokage and if the direction of this conversation leads to what she thinks will happen, this is indeed one big shitfaced hellhole they are about to go through.

Her mind flew to the Konoha kunoichi. Something tells her that she knew something about her, that the written report given by Tenzou and authorized by the Hokage held up something important. She just couldn't point it all out. Frustrated by these problems, she crossed her hands to her chest and turned back to face her brothers.

"Whatever the hell this is, I hope we all agree to remain here and continue from where we left off?" She glared at her brothers and Tenzou. The Konoha nin nodded. Kankuro smiled – more like grinned. "Sure thing, sis."

Gaara may be the Kazekage, Kankuro may be part of Suna's Puppet Brigade, but the boys knew who wore the pants in this household. No doubt about it, it's Temari. It always is.

Gaara only looked sideways and glared at the door. He placed the ANBU's file into one of his desks. Tenzou placed himself to the cornermost part of the room. Nobody wanted to be stomped by an angry mob of Suna shinobis.

A loud bang echoed throughout the tower. Two Suna guards came and plopped a brown-haired man in front of the Kazekage's table. The man's hands were glued to his back by chakra restraining handcuffs. Baki-sensei stood beside one of the guards, his face painted with displeasure. They were followed by two male Suna Elders and their mob of assistants. One of the elders, a balding Tadashi-sama, smiled at the Kazekage and his siblings and Kankuro and Temari smiled back – he was obviously the Sand Sibling's favorite go-to old man. The other one is the stern Isamu-sama a.k.a. the Geriatric Bastard, as Kankuro would like to put it.

A few moments later came in two Konoha shinobis, and Temari was momentarily shocked by their arrival.

Cat and Crow had made their appearance - in their ANBU uniform no less. They seemed so different from the duo who came inside the Kazekage's office holding hands. Cat stood stiffly (duh, he's a friggin' clone – inner Temari voiced and rolled her eyes). Crow unexpectedly looked like - _a boy_ - because of her baggy clothes. If she hadn't heard the shinobi's soft voice before, she would have definitely mistaken him for a lanky short teenage boy who wore baggy hand-me-down clothes.

So Tenzou was the Cat Anbu? She looked at the real Tenzou who had his back on the wall. He pulled himself off the wall and stood to hear his clone's report.

His clone bowed to the Kazekage. "Apologies for quite the delay, Kazekage-sama, but we had managed to arrest the culprit of my partner's discovery."

"Before we have this discussion, only the elders, my siblings, the two ANBU, the Konoha shinobi and Baki-sensei will remain here. The rest of you get out." Gaara's monotonous voice droned. Everyone kept silent and followed his orders. No questions asked.

"What is the meaning of this, Mukade?" The geriatric bastard finally spoke up. Actually, Temari was surprised he had held his tongue this long. The pompous jerk never dared missed his chances to talk whenever they had meetings.

"I have yet to know the nature of my accusations, Isamu-sama! This is preposterous! Baki here may have alluded himself to think that he can arrest a Suna Council member like me with pathetic ANBU shinobis, but I refuse to go into the Interrogation Squad without their so-called proof!".

Temari would recognize the man handcuffed everywhere, she practically saw the man everytime they had that boring Suna Council Meeting. She always felt disgusted by the creepy man, his vibes always gave her the shivers, and they're not the good kind. Kankuro seemed to always sneer whenever he was around, and Kankuro once mentioned to her before that the man always had an unexplicable way to crawl on his nerves. She looked at Kankuro and at the restrained man, apparently the feeling was mutual. Same goes for Baki-sensei. So much hatred, she mentally shook her head.

Baki-sensei cleared his throat. "Two ANBU shinobis came to my house, Kazekage-sama, and they requested my assistance to capture Mukade-san. At first I was reluctant but after hearing their explanation, I took it upon myself to guide them and personally took charge in capturing him."

"Care to share what that explanation might be, Baki-_san_?" The way Mukade spat the honorific was obviously laced in disgust.

"I believe it would be more appropriate for the ANBU to explain their actions, Mukade-_san_." Their sensei retorted with equal venom. Kankuro rudely chuckled.

Gaara looked at the ANBU pair.

"Explain."

Crow cleared her throat and grabbed the cacti book on the Kazekage's table. Everyone was waiting for this moment.

"Your office has been bugged, Kazekage-sama. And Mukade-san here is the culprit."

Mukade audibly snorted, but everyone held their silence.

"I believe that this book was given as a gift, Kazekage-sama?". Gaara nodded.

"Inside page 238 of this book is a well-hidden seal strategically placed to conceal its purpose. The seal was concealed in the illustration of the said page. The main purpose of the seal, once activated by Mukade-san, is to become a microphone. Any conversation, any sound made inside this room, Mukade-san has heard them all ever since he activated the seal."

"Where's your proof then, ANBU-san?"

"Your chakra signature matches the chakra used to activate the seal, Mukade-san."

"How do you know that?" Mukade-san sneered at the ANBU.

"Crow is one of the best sensory nin in the ANBU, Mukade-san. She was able to match your chakra signature with the seal." Cat defended her partner.

"That doesn't prove anything. I had touched and scanned that book once or twice while I borrowed something from the Kazekage's bookshelf a while ago. I may have unknowingly touched the page and misplaced some of my chakra in there."

That was a good defense, Temari frowned. It was all circumstantial evidence, and she hated to admit that the jerk may have made a good point.

"The failure of your plan to bug the Kazekage-sama's office was due to the fact that you have only discovered half of the seal's capabilities." Everyone now looked at Crow incredulously. They seemed to wait for her explanation, but she was not on a hurry. She let the words sink in.

A few moments later, Tadashi-sama voiced out. "So you mean, Crow-san, that the seal that you spoke of does not only serve as microphone to eavesdrop on Kazekage-sama's office."

Crow directed her gaze to Tadashi-sama. "Hai, elder-sama. This particular seal has two purposes. I would have no problem recognizing this seal anywhere. It was developed by Jiraiya-sama."

Now that's another surprise. Temari closed her eyes and sighed. This is going to be a really, really long night.

"Jiraiya-sama? The Legendary Sannin from Konoha? How does it work?" Tadashi-sama's amusement was obviously peaked by the news.

Crow nodded. "Hai, elder-sama. If you allow me to show it to you, I will gladly perform the seal to prove that Mukade-san is the culprit."

"Yes, yes, please." Excitement filled the old geezer's face, and Temari, Kankuro and the real Tenzou smiled at the elder's enjoyment. He looked like a young school boy eager to open his Christmas present.

"Very well."

She opened the book to the page 238. She made half of the Rat's seal. "Kai"

The image of the cactus warped into a seal. In the center of the seal, a kanji for "Listen" was written.

Everyone's eyes darted from Mukade to Crow who were apparently on a staring contest.

"Baki-san, if you please take a look at the back of Mukade-san's earlobes. You will see something that may prove our stand." Baki nodded and examined the man's earlobes. He quickly looked at Crow, his voice strained with anger. "There is a small kanji for "listen" written there."

Crow nodded and smiled behind her ANBU Mask. "The seals used to activate it were fairly simple." She demonstrated to all of them. _Rat_. _Bird. Dragon. Snake. Rat._

"The second purpose of the seal, was the opposite effect of eavesdropping."_ Rat. Snake. Dragon. Bird. Rat._ "Please take a look at his earlobes again." Baki examined it for the second time. And sure enough, it changed. "The kanji for "muffle" is present."

Crow nodded again. She grabbed the book and held it upward, letting everyone in the room see page 238. "The kanji in the seal placed here has also changed to "muffle". This room has now been placed under a sound barrier." She made half the sign of a Rat seal. "Kai". And the image of the seal dissolved again to a picture of a cactus. She faced the Kazekage and the Suna elders and waited for their reaction.

Her explanation seemed to have settled everything.

"That seemed to have answered our curiousity. Is her explanation enough for you, Tadashi-sama?" Gaara asked the elder.

Tadashi nodded, his face was grim. He was about to say something when Isamu-sama took it upon himself to make his speech. "This has been a disgrace to the Suna Council, Mukade. From now on, you are no longer allowed to enter in the meeting room and to take part in any future meetings. I will not have you near any of us again."

Mukade was now speechless, completely thwarted and defeated.

Gaara ignored the man's histrionics and focused on his sensei. "Baki-sensei, you may now do as you deem necessary. Thank you for all your efforts. You are now dismissed." He lazily waved his hand, and they could see Baki break out in an uncharacteristic smile, a strange sight to his usual stern face. "With pleasure, Kazekage-sama." And with that, he lead the two elders and Mukade out of the Kazekage office.

Tenzou broke the silence by releasing his clone.

Kankurou hurriedly walked to Crow and crushed her in a very tight hug. She squeaked underneath her mask. He continued hugging her until her face turned blue.

"Man, you really owned it! You finally made that son of a bitch dig his own grave! Haha! Serves him right! May he rot in prison and be damned to eternity for all I care! Haha! This has got to be the best night of my life ever since – forever!"

Temari whacked her head with a paper fan. "Let go of her, you idiot, you're gonna kill her with that stupid hug!"

Kankuro released Crow and instead patted her back heavily. Crow audibly coughed.

"So. Now that the drama is done, can I have this book and burn the shit later?" Kankurou's happiness rubbed on his sister, and both made a small laugh.

Gaara looked at his siblings and the Konoha shinobi, all looked more relaxed than before. He nodded at Kankuro.

"Alright, let's all get down to the kitchen and eat, I'm already very hungry!" Kankuro tried to grab Temari's hand but was later stopped by Gaara's voice.

"Before anything else, I would like to ask a question to Cat here. And please remove your mask."

Cat approached the Kazekage's table. He took off his mask and faced Gaara. "What is it, Kazekage-sama?"

"I know I have a lot of questions, and I know me and my siblings have already been cleared by your Hokage to hear everything out – everything you will say to me, the Hokage has already allowed them to hear it. But before we go to dinner, I have a particular question that has plagued me ever since you both came in here. Would you kindly grant my request?"

Tenzou could only nod.

"Yamato-san, I have my own deductions about this matter, but it is best to gain answers directly from you." He paused for a moment to see if he will have objections from the man. He saw nothing.

"Who is Crow and what is her real name?"

Temari and Kankuro had also wondered who the mysterious shinobi is.

Tenzou looked at his partner and she stood beside him.

"Please take of your masks now, Crow."

She followed his orders, her hand slowly took hold of her Crow mask and she took it off.

"She has been taken a pill every morning, Kazekage-sama, that would guise the real color of her eyes. The pill's effects will last until midnight. Her eyes will remain in their natural color until she takes another pill again."

They nodded. That was an effective technique for camouflaging the color of one's irises. Perfect for every ANBU's job.

They held their breath for her much awaited revelation. Finally they will be able to see the face of the girl who became Lady Chiyo's student and eventually became an exceptional ANBU.

They could now see the third degree burn that marred her forehead. Danzo heavily cooked the kunoichi's skin.

Fake obsidian eyes met with three pairs of variant shades of green.

Tenzou smiled at the siblings' expression. As expected.

"I believe you may not have been introduced properly before. Kazekaga-sama, Temari-san, Kankuro-san - meet Hyuuga Hinata."

Her "death" was only the beginning.

* * *

A/N

Made this at 3AM, proof of my disturbed sleeping pattern . I hope it was okay...

R& R please :) thanks


	7. Chapter 7

A/N

Sorry for the late update, got caught up with **Rock Lee no Seishun Full-Power Ninden** anime. Never knew Neji could be so funny. hahaha. And I missed him in the main series. Nejiko, Nejimi, Nejio! haha

sweetgirl929- thanks for following :)

mrstoy - as always, thanks ! :D and good to hear you're baby's fine, and hopefully the cough has now subsided. xoxo for your family :D

ilovekoga - yep, i personally felt it wasn't exciting, but i gotta put some history there so there can be some clarity :D And i did get some sleep, thanks always for your reviews and concern :)

sailorangelmoon1- It is , indeed , thus the rating is M because... uh, it'll have some violence and gore, some sexual references.. and the "L"s... hehe. Thanks for reviewing ! :)

Two chapters will be uploaded today... I do hope you'll enjoy them :)

here goes chapter 6.. r & r please. :)

* * *

**Chapter 7**

"Holy shit, she's legit as tit!"

His outburst has gained another opportunity for his sister to whack his muddled head.

"Fuck! What the hell was that for, Tem?" He absentmindedly rubbed his sore head. Temari only rolled her eyes. He swept his eyes to an annoyed Gaara, a shocked Tenzou and finally landed to Hinata who blinked twice.

"That's no way to welcome our guests, stupid! And shut your trap if you can't even be polite for once!" Seriously! He wondered if Temari was just hiding her surprise over the fact that the Hyuuga was alive, or had he really been that slow and hungry to put two and two together. They of course knew of her "death" after the Chuunin Exams.

"I was just surprised, geez, sis!" He scratched his head. He'll never understand women, but seeing that she's the only steady feminine presence in his life who sorta became his mother/sister/best friend/glue to their dysfunctional family, he's just gonna have to suck it up and heed Baki-sensei's unsolicited man-to-man talk /advice: _there's no point in trying to win an argument with a sexually frustrated woman_. Not that he's encouraging his sister to surrender her carnal treasure (no fucking way, not in her age now, man), but hey, her harboring an unrequited not-so-secret affection for _years_ for a certain shinobi was just too frustrating to look at and unfortunately he and his brother has to see it remain, well, unrecognized.

Which reminds him of the kunoichi in front of him. She used to like the fox boy, right?

Before he could ask her regarding Naruto, Gaara stepped in the conversation.

"So my deductions were correct, it is really you, Hyuuga-san." "We've heard you were killed, but from what we ride from your file, it can only be you. But it is still shocking to see you in the flesh." They had both figured out from the file? He shrugged his shoulder. As expected from Gaara and Temari. Guess he was the odd one out. Suddenly his traitorous stomach growled. Urgh.

Temari smirked. Tsch. Happy now, sis? "Gaara, we are all famished. We might as well continue this conversation over dinner, and possibly after that?" She looked at all four people. They all nodded.

"Very well. I'll lead you to your rooms. Please do come at this floor's dining room 30 minutes from now, it's where we dine once all the maids are out. Come follow me." His sister stood up and made a beeline to the door, the two Konoha shinobis bowed to the Kazekage before following Temari.

"Time for some grub, Gaara. Might as well grab the chance to bathe, and meet them again in 30 minutes." He stuffed his hands to his pockets and headed to the door, expecting Gaara to follow. No matter how busy their lifestyle is, all three siblings always made it a point to meet during meals, no matter how short the mealtime will be.

When Gaara did not follow and only remained in his chair, Kankuro paused and looked at his brother. What is he thinking now? "What's wrong, bro?" No response. He cocked his left eyebrow. "Ah, Gaara?" he asked in a louder voice. This time the young leader heard him, who only nodded. "Nothing. See you."

And with that they both exited the Kazekage office, one troubled by today's happenings, the other too hungry to think and notice his younger brother's contemplation.

* * *

Dinner with the two ANBUs was polite. Greetings here and there, small talk about the Kages, yada, yada, yada. Too serious for my liking, Kankuro thought. He hoped that the conversation would get lighter once they begin the after-dinner talk, whatever the hell that means. It doesn't concern him directly, and he's happily contented on being both Temari and Gaara's shadows. But being the middle child, you sometimes gotta go and support your younger brother for his politics and follow your sister's commands (yes, that's how direct she is – pleas and requests aren't in Temari's books) because you don't want another earful of reprimands for _being a bad host_. Kami-sama must have hated him so much from his previous life for making him suffer this Middle Child Syndrome shit, or whatever this is.

He only noticed that everyone was done eating when he heard Temari cleaning the table and Gaara putting the dishes to the sink. Yamato and Hinata offered to help, but Temari refused. It is indeed highly improper for them to let their guests get worked up over dirty plates. He made his way to the sink and started to clean out the dishes. No other people are in the tower from 8 pm onwards, except them and some guards. No matter how public their life is, no one wants to get suffocated 24/7, and thank Kami Baki-sensei made it a rule that no maids or workers are allowed inside when 8 pm comes. Kankuro sees it as a blessing, mainly because he doesn't want other people to know about some of his, uh, very-private room activities.

"Hinata-chan, why don't you go ahead upstairs and make your reports for the Hokage. I'm pretty sure you have quite the narrative report to make". Now he really is sure that this Yamato guy is nice, if it were him in his place, he would never be that polite to dismiss someone. His lines would have been "I really have something I wanna say to my brother, and you might as well go on and get lost." Blunt and straightforward, no point in doing the wishy-washy. But this is the Hyuuga heiress – no, scratch that – ex-Hyuuga heiress they're talking about, so it wouldn't hurt to show the girl some manners, right?

The girl nodded her head. She got the message, and slowly made her way out of the kitchen and into her room.

Yamato waited for a few moments, and looked at the three siblings. They also stared at him, waiting for him to continue their conversation. Temari was relaxed, she's always been good with diplomatic situations. But Gaara was different, and might he say, agitated and confused? Granted that his demeanor wasn't the nicest (that is already a given), but what the hell was he confused about, the Hokage already sent him a letter regarding the Hyuuga.

Yamato took out three scrolls out of his Jounin jacket, and gave it one to each of them. "The Hokage would like you all to read the scrolls before I give out other information. She wants to hear your outlook with what's inside the scroll first before we proceed with the arrangements.

The three read the scrolls in silence. ANBU Proclamation No. 718. Kankuro read the content marked confidential. He read it. Then he reread it. And to make sure he's not mistaken but what his eyes witness, read it again. Konoha. ANBU. FUCK Section. Wh-what?

Hinata? Was she one of them?

His eyes grew wide on the second part of the scroll. It was a letter mainly addressed to Gaara, but Tsunade-sama explained that she would want his siblings to know that she is requesting that her shinobi (now they knew as Hinata) render her ANBU and other skills to Suna now that Chiyo-sama is dead. He hasn't had enough time to react to the fact that _once-shy-and-dead-heiress-now-batshit-deadly-and-secretly-alive-ANBU_ Hinata Hyuuga being a "tapper" or a "sleeper" or any other mumbo-jumbo they call the members of _that_ section. And now he just discovered that the Hokage wanted that she work for this village's ANBU? If she's going to be in the ranks, she obviously needed a partner. She already has Yamato and the Dog. _Why can't she go back to Konoha if she's that much of an asset to them?_

"Is this true?" Temari's breathy voice snapped his inner turmoil back to the serious-faced Yamato. He empathized with his sister. This information is just too much.

Yamato nodded. "Yes. And the Hokage wants to know if you three will grant her request."

The androgenous part of him said yes, it would be nice to have some new female presence in Suna, not to mention that her work involved _fucking _and _sleeping around_, and maybe_, just maybe_, he can have some taste with that? Haha.

He shook his head. No. He can't be thinking of that. It would only prove his sister's s correct, that, one, he fucks everyone within his age group who has a vagina and isn't related to him; and two, that he perfected the term "Man Whore" to a T.

Enough with inner mind sexual debate, he chastised himself. Get back to the topic, jerk.

If he voiced out and said No, who knows what that crazy Hokage may think about Suna and their alliance? This could be another means to strengthen Suna and Konoha's alliance. Hinata would be a fine addition to the shinobi ranks. Her sexual activities aside, the girl can really fight.

Not to forget the fact that she was also Chiyo-sama's pupil, Suna's best Medical-Nin before her and her brother succumbed to being hermits. And currently their medical personnel needed the help they can get. Getting caught in another attack from any S-rank criminals who use poisons to their opponents like adding sugar to their coffee is no laughing joke. It nearly took his life. Suna needs to improve its medical facilities, programs and most importantly their greenhouses and pharmacy.

He looked at his brother who was waiting for his and Temari's answers. Both he and Temari nodded to Gaara's direction.

"Please tell the Hokage that Hyuuga-san is welcome to serve Suna. And please tell her that I have assigned my brother as her partner. Kankuro has been an ANBU shinobi two weeks before the attack happened. He may not look like it but he's talented. And as for Hyuuga-san's … field of specialty, it is not for us to judge her character based on what she is ordered to do. Your village's secret is safe with us." Kankuro wished he could decline, but that was a command from Gaara the Kazekage, not Gaara the brother, so he did not speak. Yamato was clearly pleased with his answer. "Arigatou, Kazekage-sama, Temari-san, Kankuro-san. I will tell the Hokage about your decision once I get back to the village."

"Having heard your answer to the Hokage's question, she also specified that it is part of my mission to brief you about Hinata-chan's history that was purposely left out in here profile. I can clear out some things that happened to her after the Chuunin exams. I am now ready to answer your questions."

This is their chance to answer any of their questions. Bring it on.

"Why stay here in Suna? Why can't she come back to Konoha?" Temari blurted out. Spot on, sis.

"Remember her characteristic markings reflected in her profile?" Temari and Kankuro nodded, Gaara only continued staring. "The most important ones are those of her forehead and the one on her tongue. Her forehead, Chiyo-sama later reported, was not only burned to deform her. A cursed seal was placed in her skull before her forehead was burned, and there is a strong chance that Danzo did it. A few months when Hinata-chan was taken by Chiyo-sama, she took her to one of her journeys. Their journey needed them to cross Konoha, and once they got 5 miles South of Konoha and its gates, Hinata-chan fell to the ground and shrieked in pain while grabbing her forehead. A few minutes later she fell unconscious, mainly due to the intense ache. Chiyo-sama took her away from their usual route. 8 miles away from Konoha and 30 minutes later Hinata-chan was conscious again. Chiyo-sama concluded that she can't come near 5 miles from any direction of Konoha."

"The hell! That Danzo's one sick bastard! He already tortured her while she was inside, and now she can't come back to Konoha." Temari's outburst was not met with Kankuro's usual retorts. He too thought of the elder as such. Torture was enough, cursing the girl and keeping her away from her home was just too much.

"That's just the tip of the iceberg and the start of her hell. Danzo's one paranoid jerk, too. Aside from the cursed seal on her forehead, there's also another one on her tongue. When she was 14, me and her other partner would ask her what happened. Try as she might, she can't verbalize them. She only gets frustrated and cried because she can't speak of her unfortunate situation. She has no choice but to keep it her secret, but Kakashi-senpai and I think that it was just a continuation of her torture."

"Son of a bitch." Now it was Gaara who spoke. Yamato was slightly shocked of the Kazekage's cursing, but refrained from speaking. "He's too careful to let things slip, isn't he? And there isn't much evidence and paper trail to prove it was his doing."

"Hai, Kazekage-sama. He's too slick. And of course we don't want him to go and hunt Hinata-chan again. Whatever went down in there, only Hinata-chan, Danzo and his minions knew. I'm just thankful it was Chiyo-sama who saw her."

"You said something about Kakashi." Kankuro followed up.

"Yes. In her file, her partners are Dog and Cat. I am Cat. Kakashi is Dog."

"We didn't know Kakashi was still active in ANBU." Gaara voiced what all three siblings were thinking.

Yamato tightened his lips. "Hinata-chan, well… (sigh) As much as it pains me to tell her story, it is very depressing, but I might as well start from when she lived with Chiyo-sama and Ebizo-sama." He placed his hands on the tabled and intertwined them.

"When Hinata-chan woke up 3 days in Suna, she was a mess. The nightmares. The shouts. The paranoia and the detachment. The debriefing done by the Honored Siblings was one of the most painful and tiresome they've done, as what Chiyo-sama reflected in her reports. She would have endless nights of panic attacks, her nightmares she would not speak off. She would only cry and hug herself, rock her knees and keep muttering "_I'm sorry_" or "_I promise_" or "_I will protect you_". She bathed twice a day, one hour early morning and one hour before she goes to bed, because, and I'm quoting Chiyo-sama here, she "_needs to wash away so much blood_". She can't be left alone in a room because she would scratch herself, because she thought she hadn't scrubbed herself enough and that she could still smell the blood in her body. She slept beside Lady Chiyo, because she's afraid of Ebizo-sama. She thought she was another man and would only freak out whenever he got a few meters away from him. She would not allow him to touch her, much less speak to her because she, and I quote, "_doesn't want to be hurt again. All you men did was hurt me_"."

Yamato paused. He saw Temari's reaction. Her hands were shakily touching her mouth, her eyes brimmed with tears. Kankuro has never seen Temari cry, much less get emotional over someone else's misfortune. _Not another hormonal moment._ He approached Temari and placed his shoulders on hers. She looked him in the eyes, and glanced to their younger brother.

His brother sat like a stone. Of course, they could all remember what hellish childhood they went through with their good-for-nothing Father. Hearing Yamato's confession about what Hyuuga Hinata had to suffer to survive, of her fear of getting hurt again, they could all relate to it, especially Gaara. Like one sick deja-vu.

"You may continue, Yamato-san." Temari held her voice and held her hands to both Kankuro and Gaara.

"Debriefing continued, medical and psychological check-ups were done to her by the siblings. She's detached when she's not manic, paranoid, anxious and fearful. It was painstakingly hard to deal with her, but fortunately they did not find her a lost case. Chiyo-sama continued to sleep beside her, cater to her needs and even allowed Hinata-chan to watch her do her medical stuff. She grew a certain attachment to the old lady and vice versa. That opened to opportunities for Chiyo-sama to know her, and later coaxed her brother to do the same. It really took some time, but she got along Ebizo-sama in the end."

"Unfortunately, the poison truly affected her body; the poison had taken effect before the antidote was administered. The antidote relieved her of the poison, but the effects it made to her body cannot be undone."

"What are you talking about?"

"It changed her chakra system. It even changed her chakra signature. Kakashi once said that Hinata-chan's chakra before and after her demise was different, it's almost like looking at two persons. Her current chakra system is darker and troubled. Gone was her calm chakra signature. It brought out some positive things anyway, after we had trainings. She can effortlessly totally mask her chakra signature – if by chance you're a sensory nin and you walk pass her, you would only think of her as a civilian. Perfect for her ANBU missions. She can hide her smell when she wants to, only Pakkun and the rest of Kakashi's pack of ninken can really smell her. She makes her own body and hair products, and there really is no scent, trust me. Still, the cons outweigh the pros." He stopped to take a deep breath.

"What else has that poison fucked up?"

Yamato met Kankuro's confused face. "Nosocomephobia, or the fear of hospitals – though I think it was because she was captured while she was having a check-up. A medic nin whose afraid of hospitals. Tsk. Maybe the same way that Tsunade-sama used to fear blood." He scratched his chin, deep in thought. "She has hypohydrosis, the inability to properly sweat, hence the use of spandex clothes permanently infused with water element and chakra to keep her from having heat strokes and passing out. It was designed by Chiyo-sama, and her Jounin jacket was treated the same way." He cleared his throat. "And lastly, her egg cells in her ovaries have greatly declined, and she has stopped having her period ever since."

"You mean to say…." Temari didn't want to continue saying what she was thinking about.

Yamato only nodded. "In the past it has dampened her to the point of depression. She thought she was a failure. Kakashi and I never wanted to discuss that ever again."

What the hell are they talking about? This some sort another telepathic talk show again?

"I think I would feel the same if I were in her shoes… You and Kakashi have been very supportive of her." It wasn't a question.

Yamato gave his best smile. "The three of us do have a weird partnership. We've all been teamed up since she was 13 and I'm happy that we have come a long way."

They all fell silent after that, caught in their own thoughts.

Kankuro coughed, getting the attention of one currently mute Gaara and his two depressed companions. Time to break this shitty flow of conversation.

"I'm really sorry to burst your bubble, Tem, but I don't want to continue hearing these depressing mushy talks and hear you singing those God awful mellow songs in the middle of the night. Keep those things in your sleepovers, Tem, no guy wants to hear you bawl over your sexual frustrations and unrequited love, you closet pervert! And certainly Yamato-san here doesn't want _you _to drown him into misery because of your Talk-no-Jutsu about Nara Shikamaru's emotional range equating to negative fifty. Seriously, you might as well run around stark naked and I bet both of my nuts that he's still gonna be too lazy to open his eyes and he'll only continue he's shitty dream to la-la land."

Kankuro badmouthing Nara Shikamaru always riled up Temari. She'll be hitting him with the paper fan anytime. And he rather see her angry and he would gladly accept her hits than see her crying or depressed.

"Temari-san, you like Shikamaru?" Yamato's eyes turned wide and Temari furiously blushed. She turned her direction to Kankuro and whacked him with gusto.

"You fucking sicko, why did you have to reveal that?!" Temari was shouting now.

"She doesn't just like him, Yamato-san, she's been infatuating, idolizing and fantasizing and loving him for what? Five years? Seriously, if I were in her case I'd stop hoping the guy has hots for me when clearly the feeling is not mutual." He crossed his hand on his chest and sneered at his sister.

"Oh, and how does that make you any different, you buffoon! I've practically heard you in your sleep muttering Sari-chan's name and moaning her name when you jerk-off for the past 6 years! And don't you dare deny it, I've seen a photo album in your boxer's compartment titled "My Private Movie" which contained almost a hundred or so candid shots of Sari-chan. That's borderline stalker and creepy, you bastard!" Kankuro virtually paled, his sister laughing her ass of her triumph and his downfall. How the hell does she know all that? Damn it! Temari and her underhanded tactics! "And the next time you try to talk about Shikamaru like that, I'm gonna go troll all over you, pull out your private movie ,which mcoincidentally is locked safely somewhere in my room, and mail that pretty little thing to Sari-chan!".

"Don't you dare threaten me, Temari or I'll –"

"Kankuro!"

Or else you'll what you, per-

"Temari!"

Both siblings swiveled their heads to look at a furious Gaara.

"You've been shouting all this time, you're going to wake up everyone in Suna if you keep talking like that."

"Ano, is everything all right?"

Yamato, Temari and Kankuro's gaze turned to the owner of the soft voice. Gaara knew who the owner was, so he slowly closed his eyes, turned around and opened them.

Hinata was wearing an oversized white shirt, and silk pajamas. The pajamas were printed with strawberry ice creams. Her long hair was untied and damp, her bangs and mask stuck to her forehead.

A particular statement once made by Shukaku during the Chuunin Exams shook his memory again.

_Damn, kit. That little Hyuuga princess sure has some sweet smelling blood. Wouldn't you want to try to taste her blood, kit? Nah! Haha! She's out of bounds for our bloodlust, we don't want to destroy someone as precious as that, don't you think so? I dig for her beauty, kit, we've got ourselves a looker here. She may be weak, but she's one hell of a cutie pie._

And Gaara couldn't agree more.

* * *

Chapter 7 coming right up!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 7**

"Oh, Hinata-chan, are you done with the report?" Her partner Yamato does really have nice timing. It's a good thing Hinata came down so his brother and sister could finally stop bickering.

She shook her head. "Uhm, no, but I went here to ask you have some extra scrolls?"

Gaara hurriedly drew out a scroll from the one of the cupboards in the kitchen. He gave them to Hinata, and she thanked Gaara and bowed to him before looking back at Yamato.

"I'm really sorry, Tenzou, but would it be okay if you can give me 20 more minutes to finish my report?"

"No, no, don't be sorry, Hinata-chan, take your time. We'll wait for you here." Hinata smiled to him. She tiptoed and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you." She patted his cheek and went to her room. Everyone looked at Tenzou, shocked for the nth time for the display of affection. They expected him to blush, but he didn't. Was this normal to them? Were teammates always like this? Gaara had never seen a team so open, he would never ever imagine himself kissing Temari on the cheek, and he would rather not broach the topic of kissing Kankuro anywhere else!

"Thank God she wore the pajama bottoms, Kakashi would kill me if you've seen her without one."

"You mean you weren't bothered when she kissed you, but you're bothered that she's wearing bottoms? Man, what the hell is wrong with your team?" Kankuro's brows rose and Gaara almost thought it would disappear in his hair. He would have been in the same situation, well, if only he had a pair of them.

Yamato turned to Kankuro and chuckled. "I forgot to mention Kakashi's reminders. Twenty minutes, I will have enough time to give you a once over. You are her partner now, might as well remind you, and warn you of what you are to go through." Gaara could see the visible change in Yamato's expression, he's face lit up when he saw Kankuro's shocked expression.

"Well, as I mentioned, Hinata-chan was a mess at first with the Honored siblings, right? She was then able to adjust to them, though she still had her nightmares and all other problems but she was coming out of her shell. You've seen during the Chuunin exams, right?"

Kankuro nodded. "Yeah. Shy, weak, soft spoken. Stuttering mess."

"Something snapped within her, and she became a blank slate when she arrived here in Suna. As if she lost every emotion she knew. I attribute this to her traumatic childhood and her torture. Chiyo-sama once included in her Psychological Profile that Hinata-chan tended to "absorb" some of their personalities and integrate them to herself, as a means of compensation for her lack thereof. Meaning, some of Chiyo-sama and Ebizo-sama's hobbies and personalities rubbed off on her. Kakashi said that the Hinata-chan he knew from Konoha already knew a lot about plants and gardening as well as making salves, but her fascination with poison and her interest in cacti, that came from Chiyo-sama and Ebizo-sama, respectively."

"What does this have to do with her pajama bottoms?" an impatient Temari asked.

Yamato held his hand up. "Hold your horses, I'm getting there. The next pair that Hinata-chan met, was unfortunately the last pair of people we would want her to gain training from. But the woman is very good with Psychology and therapy, however unconventional it is. And the man who offered to work with the woman when he's not busy was one of our elite shinobis, we don't want to mess with him." He paused to put one fist to his cheeks, while his free hand tapped the dining table. "As weird as it is, three months after the Chuunin exams, Hinata-chan became Mitarashi Anko and Jiraiya-sama's student."

"Oh, God! No, not them!" Temari's well manicured hands flew to her forehead. After what he heard this morning about Mitarashi Anko and the rumors of Naruto's sensei, Gaara could only sympathize with Hinata. What kind of training must she had to go through with those perverts?

"Your Hokage must be totally wasted when she decided to put an innocent girl's future in the hands of two perverts."

"Actually, Kankuro-san, I was there with the Hokage when Mitarashi Anko suggested forming that section, and I was there when Anko came up with that stupid name and rules, and that Jiraiya-sama had supported her endeavors. I was one of the witnesses when it was signed. The Hokage was offering sake, and Anko was eating dangos. The Hokage thought that Hinata-chan needed a confidence boost, and that Anko is the key to unlocking her hidden potential. Yep, she indeed boosted her confidence, but her influence together with Jiraiya-sama's… well, what can I say. At least it has been helpful numerous times, like the situation this morning and the one we had during the last ANBU examination when Hinata-chan and I were administrators."

"So you mean to say that we are housing a female succubus here?" Kankuro almost shouted that one.

"No, no, Hinata-chan… she doesn't go around pounding every man she meets, no, nothing like that! Hinata-chan's instinct must have kicked off when Anko and Jiraiya-sama came to her life. Although she is every bit of Anko when she's on a mission and as knowledgeable as Jiraiya-sensei is with his "art", she doesn't go around sucking the daylights out your balls when she's not on a mission. When Kakashi and I became her sensei a year after, I was able to correct most of Anko's damage and Kakashi introduced her to his pack of dogs. It was difficult, very very difficult for two adult men to adjust to a developing girl, but she's very reliable when the going gets tough. Hinata-chan has no friends from your age group. She was exposed to two traditional elders, two perverts, and two ANBUs. That's as social as she can get. I know she wants to have friends, but she never had a chance to do that since she was taken away from home. That's why this change in her routine and exposure to people of her age group may make her nervous."

Now Gaara and her siblings finally understood her behavior. She, like the younger version of him, was alone: socially inept and emotionally awkward. He could only hope that they will be able to handle her, well he would try his best to be patient with her. She doesn't have any friends. That loneliness and that strive to be accepted to society, he knew all too well. Challenges may come, but if his siblings were able to live with one socially awkward kid their whole lives, how much harder could it be to adjust to another?

"And now, Kankuro-san, Temari-san, Kazekage-sama, I will give to you Kakashi's reminders and hints to her behavior." Yamato looked at Temari and Gaara swore that he could see tears forming from the man's eyes. It was kinda comical, actually. "Kakashi and I, as her brothers and teammates, are very much pleased that at least now Hinata-chan finally has a _normal_ female presence in her life. We're not saying Chiyo-sama was normal, but she was not young and Anko's too freaky to describe. Even Kakashi can't stand her, and he's a pervert, too."

They all let out hearty laughs, and Gaara could not suppress his smile. Granted that Konoha shinobis are really weird (one proof is enough: Naruto), but they always were entertaining.

"We'll try our best, Yamato-san." Temari assured the Konoha shinobi.

"Thank you again, Temari-san… Okay. Reminder Number One. We do most things together. We bathe together in missions, we eat together, we room together and most importantly, we sleep together."

"You mean you do threesomes and double penetration? Fuck, yeah, that's so cool, man, I always wanna do it but I haven't found two people open enough to do the good DP! Oh, and I needed to check if I still have some lube stashed somewhere in my room." Gaara groaned. That's it, people. Kankuro's perverse nature has come to steal the show.

"What" Whack. "The heck" Whack. "Were you thinking" Whack. "You duffus!" Double Whack. "Stop thinking about those things and for fuck's sake act _normal_!" an enraged Temari was chastising the middle child the best way she knew of.

Gaara allowed himself to offer his two cents. He crossed his hands to his chest and spoke in his deep voice."Stop hitting Kankuro's head, Temari, his brain cells are already dead. There's no point in trying to addle and mess up something that twisted, it will only make matters already gave up hope on Kankuro acting normal when we caught him practicing how to kiss a girl, with one with of his puppets."

Kankuro's head must be aching, for they could see him rest his head on the round kitchen table and groaned. "Ugh, that was too much, Tem. And brother, you're not helping either. And both of you should stop ganging up on me, you're my siblings, for Kami's sake!"

"Serves you right, you man whore!" Temari scuffed.

"Kankuro-san, no, we don't do that, and I honestly can't picture myself in that position with anyone, especially those two. I will be lenient for you this time, but next time I don't know. Hahaha. "He shook his head."I advise you, though, to refrain from doing any of that, especially around Kakashi. He may be a pervert, but he would not allow the "Queen" - as what his dogs call her - harassed like that. Expect him to order all of his dogs to restrain you in one of their jutsus, and let one ninken bite you in your genitals and rip them all in one move. He'll even use his Raikiri to shove your poor appendage down your throat." His face suddenly became so serious, and Gaara saw her sister's eyes widen and become scared.

"The three of you don't know anything about me either, right? I prefer to handle situations with diplomacy, but I'm not averse to controlling people with fear."(_A/N: Yamato's words straight from Naruto Shippuuden Episode 36-37_)

Gaara saw Kankuro shiver at the prospect of Hatake Kakashi, famous Copy Ninja, ripping his dick and balls into his body and blasting them into smithereens. What will happen of Suna's future grandchildren now?

Yamato heavily sighed. His eyes relaxed at the sight of a scared Kankuro. "Look, it takes a lot to work him up, but his boiling point is as low as it's ever been. Hatake Kakashi, the man who copied over a thousand jutsus… is about to go on a rampage when he sees your type making the moves on our beloved Hinata-chan. (_A/N: took some of Kakashi's words from the manga and incorporated them here_.)

"Don't worry Yamato-san, both Gaara and I will room with Hinata-chan and Kankuro so we can both keep an eye on him." She gave him a smile that Gaara believed reassured Yamato. As for him, he doesn't sleep anyway, so he doesn't mind. Much. Temari directed her gaze to a shrinking Kankuro. "And I'm pretty sure my little brother here would not dare do something stupid here, what with all our threats combined." She patted his hair to add to her dramatic effect.

"Okay, okay, I'll wear my chastity briefs, shirt and pants and behave, that okay for everyone?" He broke into a nervous laugh to appease his companions.

"So let's move on to Reminder Number Two. Hinata-chan wears baggy shirts, because they came from our closets and our funds; because all the clothes for her upper extremities were mine and Kakashi's. If she asks you one, don't bother asking. It's her way of alleviating her fears of her comrade's deaths, she thinks that some part or possession of you – like your shirt – gives her confidence to do her best and that you are with her in spirit."

They were all stunned. That explains the baggy clothes, though Gaara knew she wore those type of clothing ever since her Genin days. "That's actually pretty sweet of her." That came out of Kankuro's mouth. Yet another of today's surprises that his dolt of a brother came to appreciate something from a woman's point of view.

Yamato smiled at the three of them. "Yeah, it is."

A comfortable silence fell again.

"Which brings us to Reminder Number Three. Kankuro-san, do you hate cold showers?"

"No, water in Suna is scarce. I don't mind having cold or hot showers. Why?"

"Good, coz you're going to have a lot of them. She sleeps with one of our shirts and her panties on. And she's a blanket hogger and a hug-hungry bedmate. You seriously need it."

Gaara was nonplused. What is it with the question about showers?

"Reality bites. We're men, Kankuro-san, and it happens even if we don't want it. It wasn't a problem when she was younger, but a growing woman like her, your hormones are going to act up. Kakashi and I view it as a practice of self-control, we think of it as training. The urge is too much sometimes, I'm not going to deny that. And if push comes to shove, Kakashi once went out on a limb for the two of us and now he wanted me to give these to you. He said these will be good for distractions."

And then there were three pictures. The first was of Jiraiya-sama strangling a cat by its neck who bit him in the butt while he was trying to peak on the women's bathroom. The second was Naruto exposing his cheeks all for the world so he can scratch his balls. The third was of that weird Spandex Sensei – what was his name again? – in front of a mirror with only a green spandex swimming trunks, contracting his biceps and flashing his sparkling smile.

Temari was pounding the tables with the sight. Kankuro's jaw fell. Gaara was still not getting the idea of cold showers, Hinata, and weird pictures from Konoha. What's the connection?

"The fuck, man, now I'm never going to be healthy again for the next months or so! Fuck! Oh, God, I was practically mind-raped! Come on, Tem, do something! Give me some genjutsu to make me forget all that! FUCK!" Kankuro was now covering his eyes with his large hands. Poor guy, Gaara thought. Serves you right for being a pervert to Hinata-chan – wait, since when did he mentally address her with that suffix?

Temari grabbed the picture of Naruto from Yamato's hands and examined it."How the hell did Kakashi get these?"

Yamato's smile was as wide as it can get. He was obviously having fun of Kankuro's reaction."He used his ninken to get those, and frankly I don't want to know how those dogs got them." Temari continued laughing.

Gaara grabbed Naruto's picture from his sister's hand. "Keep this one, Temari. This is good for blackmail." Temari and Kankuro did not protest.

They barely heard her footsteps, but Gaara's sand already reacted to her presence, alerting him. Strange. That never happened before.

When she came to their view, she gave them a warm smile. Gaara couldn't help but smile a bit.

"Gomen, it took me longer than 20 minutes, sorry if I made you wait."

Temari instantly stood and took hold of Hinata's hand. "No, you don't have to apologize. For starters, may I call you Hinata-chan? You can call me Temari-chan if you want."

"Hinata's pale cheeks flushed. "Really?" That breathy voice again, Gaara mused. "Thank you, Temari-chan. Thank you." Kankuro stood up and offered his hand. "And you can call me Kankuro, I'll be your ANBU partner. Nice to meet you, Hinata-chan." Hinata reluctantly shook his hand. His sister, brother and Yamato looked at him, expecting him to do the same.

He looked at her, her cheeks flushed.

_Damn, kit. That little Hyuuga princess sure has some sweet smelling blood. Wouldn't you want to try to taste her blood, kit? Nah! Haha! She's out of bounds for our bloodlust, we don't want to destroy someone as precious as that, don't you think so? I dig for her beauty, kit, we've got ourselves a looker here. She may be weak, but she's one hell of a cutie pie._

Why does he keep remembering that now?

He gave her a small smile. "You can call me, Gaara….. Hinata-chan." He added the informal suffix reluctantly.

She beamed, and Gaara could only mentally note how he had never witnessed this amazing view before.

"What did I miss, Tenzou?" Yeah, she gets to call him that, but they call him Yamato-san.

"Nothing much. We were just talking a while ago about you, Anko and Jiraiya-sama."

"Ne, Hinata-chan," Temari started. "Why don't you share with us your experience with those two, they seem to be rather… interesting. As what Yamato-san here said."

Hinata's mouth opened and then it shut."Come on we''ll take this to the living room,we can sit on the sofas and get comfortable! We wouldn't want to miss our new-found friend the chance to share her experience!" Smooth talking, Temari.

"Well, are you sure you would want to hear them? They.. aren't the most comfortable stories."

"I've heard some of them from Anko, Hinata-chan, and I would also like to know your side of the story." Yamato added, encouraging her to speak up.

"Uhm, okay, if you insist." Temari hurriedly hugged her and led them all to the living room, Gaara falling behind the group.

After all their talks, he still couldn't let go of two things that berated his mind and attention. He's sure as hell wouldn't want to talk these out with his siblings.

Why does he keep remembering Shukaku's words now?

And what is the connection of Hinata-chan, pajamas, cold showers and pictures of Naruto scratching his balls?

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**A/N**

Next chapter, Tales of Jiraiya and Anko :D


	9. Chapter 9

A/N

Thank you everyone who made this story their favorites and followed! :D I am pleased to know that you all enjoyed it and are looking forward for more! :D WHITElady043 Thank you!

SinShu - Thank you so much! :D yes i will continue, and i hope you will enjoy this one too!  
I made this in one sitting, just typed and typed, before i sleep and forget my ideas! :D

firegoat - Danzo's problem with Hinata will be revealed in later chapters :) ... yeah, gaara is clueless. haha. but he's good with blackmail ;)

mrstoy - i'll update :D And thanks again... and i hope your husband is okay reading these stuffs, lol at his reaction. haha. Advanced happy birthday to your daughter, and no, you're not old,trust me! I'm 24, and i'm older than you :D

WHITElady043 - yes, i do have some weird sleeping patterns. :D it gets disrupted all the time, once i was awake for 24 hours and had to force myself to pop allergy pills just to sleep! but thhe popping of allergy pills only happened once. :D i know it's unhealthy. i hope these coming days i'll get the much needed sleep. thanks for the reviews :) There will be Gaahina scenes in future chapters :)

sailorangelmoon1 - yep, and here's the latest chapter! Thanks for the review :)

Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto

* * *

**Chapter 8**

"Hinata-chan, why don't you explain to them the conversation we had this morning. The ones we had at the Kazekage's office." She has always liked Tenzou's smile. It always made her comfortable and reassured that everything is fine. Being the gentleman that he is, she is ever thankful that he and Kakashi never gave up on her. She would never have survived ANBU if it weren't for her partners. Seeing Tenzou try his best to make her fit into the Suna Siblings environment even though he never was a social butterfly himself, only made her resolve strong to make herself comfortable with the siblings.

They were now sitted on their living room, two big crimson colored sofas facing each other. One sofa was occupied by Gaara and Kankuro who sat across them. Gaara was still crossing his hands on his chest. His posture may looked bored – she could not tell if he came because he was forced by Temari-chan, or he came on his own volition. At least she could tell that he wasn't what he was before, and now was calmer and more refined that ever. Does he still have problems with having friends and sleeping like he did a few years back? She wouldn't know.

Kankuro's hands were behind his head, and his feet were placed on the coffee table placed in between the sofas. She didn't mind his actions, the same way she didn't mind Kakashi reading his porno in front of her – that's just the way some men are. If some men were born when you split a bamboo, ome were born when you roasted acorns. Ugh, splitting the bamboo, no, _DON'T GO THERE_, that only reminded her of a picture Jiraiya-sama showed her.

She looked at Temari-chan who was seated to her right. She felt so happy for another female companion. Her smiles make her feel really welcome. And on her left was her partner. Though she hated to bad mouth others, her female superior's exploits were sometimes too much, and too explicit for her tastes. She's always thankful for those two adults, however unconventional they may be. If Tenzou is giving her a chance now to air her complaints, she might as well grab the chance. And this may also prove that she's not a nutter for saying those aweful private things she said a while ago. What would Kankuro think of her if he didn't understand her and Tenzou's bluff ? What would a fine female like Temari-chan think of another female presence who behaved like a coquette? And what is the Kazekage-sama's opinion on housing an improper woman? She blushed at thinking at what Gaara would think about her. And why does it even matter to her in the first place? Maybe because you thought he was really attracti- _no! don't go there, too!_

All exposure to new people just brought out different emotions – something different.

"Okay." She begun, her soft voice seemed to become even softer for what she is about to explain. "Uhm, the first thing you need to know is that, the messages that Tenzou spoke loudly were altered, and the real messages were hidden. What was the first thing I said to you, Tenzou, when we entered the Kazekage's office."

Tenzou cleared his throat. "That I should try to cover the hickey on my earlobe, because people might think that I was parading them."

"Yeah, what the hell was that about? I actually had to look at his ears to see if a hickey was there, and I saw nothing. That was my first clue." Temari-chan was obviously excited, and Hinata felt very relieved to find out that Temari was a very open minded person, intelligent and very strong – emotionally and physicially, as evidenced by how she can control her brothers.

"A hickey on the earlobe means that somewhere a bug is planted, or someone is listening to the conversation." Temari gasped at Hinata's explanation. "Oh, so all those sex talk in there was a covert thing you Konoha ANBUs have?" Tenzou and Hinata simultaneously nodded.

"The messages I conveyed to Hinata-chan were indeed from fellow Konoha shinobis. I'll quote it again.

**Your perverted partner in Konoha's been asking for your attention, he says that bulge he's been having last time you were together has been itching for some scratch, and he also says he'll be very much pleased to meet with you again. **

(1) 'Perverted partner in Konoha' is Kakashi.

(2) 'The bulge he's been having'– bulge is the keyword, which meant **_'problem'_**.

(3) 'Itching for some scratch' is the phrase for **_'needs solution'_**,

(4) 'He'll be very much pleased to meet you again' is meant literally.

Hinata-chan's reply which was:

(5) 'I'll give him a massage' – means that she will give him a helping hand, no sexual pun intended."

"Wicked. So that was what the shit meant! Haha!" Good thing Kankuro was now reacting. At least he's getting the jist.

"What about the second one?" Gaara deadpanned. Her heart suddenly skipped a beat, she still didn't know what that meant.

She gulped. "I can explain that.

(1) 'handful treatments' is another way of saying that I helped them once.

(2) Them asking if they could 'grope my ass' meant that if they could **_'get a hold of my financial assets'_**. It is one of Konoha's ANBU traditions that the ANBU administrator would treat the successful examinees to sushi, sake, or any food or drink after they are officially proclaimed ANBU by the Hokage. Since they think that I was still on a long-term mission and I missed the proclamation, they asked if they're permitted to get money from my ANBU account.

(3) 'Pretty boy with the Oral Fixation' was of course Genma-san. 'Mr. Scarface' was Raidou-san. I really didn't want to name them that, and I'm sorry."

She dropped her gaze to her lap, her index fingers twiddled with nervousness. That particular habit of hers when she was the young Hinata was never lost.

"We understand, all is forgiven, Hinata-chan." She looked up at Temari, who patted Hinata's wobbly knees with her slender hands. A soft spoken "thank you" was all she could muster. She looked at Kankuro who gave her a thumbs-up with his cheeky grin, and she could feel her cheeks burn with the ever so slight upward tug of Gaara's thin lips.

"And what does 'they can go eat a dick' mean, Hinata-chan?" Kankuro's right eyebrow wiggled. Temari laughed at her brother's teasing. It was effective, since she now turned magenta.

"It means they can go ahead," Tenzou supplied, and Hinata held his hand, thankful for her friend's rescue.

"Isn't it too far out from the actual meaning?" Kankuro was holding his abdomen now, and she couldn't blame him for his reaction.

"Well, it wasn't our fault to begin with. These codes were made by Jiraiya-sama and Anko particularly for these situations; you wouldn't expect any good natured code out of them. We honestly don't know if we'll be able to hear any non-sexual statement from those two. Our team was practically _forced_ to learn this language. Kakashi didn't have any trouble, he's a smooth talker, I coped fairly, but Hinata-chan had to master _everything_."

"I really pity your team,man, specially you, Hinata-chan! I would have not been surprised if you bailed on those two after a day with them. Man, those two are really sick!" They could see tears on Kankuro and Temari's eyes now. Gaara was forcing his cheeks and eyes from twitching. No wonder Konoha is going to the dogs, Hinata thought.

"Oh, Kankuro-san, I can go on and on all night about how crazy that duo is. The last message about the Bingo Book?" Tenzou looked at the siblings who all nodded. "That wasn't a code. It was really what Anko was asking."

The ruckus and laughter in the living room could bring a battalion of dead ancestors roll on their graves. Even Gaara let out a chuckle.

"Your …. team obviously dislike this…., ne, Hinata…chan?" Temari managed to ask her between giggles and laughs.

She propped her elbow to her knees, and placed her chin to her palms. She leaned to the table closer, she released one of her most exhausted sighs. "I am forced to call her onee-chan, because we both have hair with shades of violet and blue. And Jiraiya-sama also forced me to call him J-man. He thinks it makes him look younger."

"Jiraiya-sama is serious most of the times when he's in Konoha, Hinata-chan. But Anko is just…. everywhere! Remember the names she bestowed on our team?" Tenzou leaned back and rubbed his forehead, she patted him on the shoulders. "There,there."

"Why what does she call the three of you?" Temari joyously asked. Hopefully Anko is not in the hospital right now, suffering from asphyxiation due to heavy sneezing. Or maybe that could be a nice idea.

Tenzou groaned. "Once, when Kakashi and I arrived at the Hokage's office, she ran after us and shouted, 'Oh, here comes **Team Weirdo**! The Old Man and The Pervert, the only one lacking now's The Transvestite!' I was the old man because I liked traditional things,_ she _has the nerve to call Kakashi the pervert when she was more perverted than he is, and Hinata-chan… well, she's the transvestite because she wears our clothes."

Hinata gruntled. She didn't want the whole of Konoha to know of her existence, especially if she was to be known as _The Transvestite_.

"When she walked on us eating at Ichiraku's, she said that she barely saw our team anymore and that **'Team Lolicon and the Two Pedobears'** should join the festival that night. I swear Kakashi was on the verge of killing her, if I hadn't restrained him. Ichiraku and half of Konoha would have been obliterated if I didn't drag a murderous Kakashi out of the ramen stand."

Hinata was hugging her knees now, her feet on top of the sofa. The only person she thought who sympathized their team now was Gaara, who was appalled by Tenzou's confession. She looked at him and their eyes met. He gave her a shy smile and a small nod. That was the most amazing gesture he gave her, and she couldn't hide her smile as well. Kankuro and Temari were both gone, they requested that they wanted to go to the bathroom to pee.

"It must have been crazy with those you. I have put up with Kankuro and Temari's bickering and love-hate moments all my life, but I can't imagine if all that could match up to what Jiraiya-sama and Mitarashi-san put you through." His sympathy was felt by both Konoha shinobis.

"Thank you very much, Kazekage-sama."

"You're welcome, and you can both call me Gaara."

"Thank you… Gaara." Their eyes met again, but she quickly looked at her lap when she felt heat on her cheeks, face and neck. She kept herself busy with the hem of her (Kakashi's) white shirt.

It took a while, but Kankuro and Temari were back to their previous positions on the sofa.

"So, Hinata-chan, Tenzou-san, what about Anko-san and Jiraiya-sama's trainings?" She honestly felt like she was in a TV talk show, and she really didn't want the attention. But Tenzou put his right hands to her shoulders and rubbed his thumbs on her deltoids. He wanted her to let it all out, and opening up to the Sand Siblings is another way for them to know her. If she's going to spill the beans, might as well continue spilling a whole sack of it.

"Jiraiya-sama was very proficient with seals, he also taught me about chakra signatures and enhancing my senses. Like going around Yugakure blindfolded without using Byakugan underneath the blindfold; using my nose and hands to determine what kind and type of plant I'm holding, focusing my ears to the smallest of sounds and determining the ingredients in food or poison with the use of taste tests and sniffs." She paused momentarily to collect her thoughts. "Anko-sensei, or onee-chan, she introduced me to one of her friends who ran a Tea House and specializes in the Art of Tea and the Ceremonies. She also introduced me to different types of dances. She also became my therapist (at this comment Kankuro snorted). She was my companion for one year, Jiraiya-sama came around once in a while. They both like to go Yugakure, because of the hot springs. We stayed there most of the time."

"I don't think that was the only thing they've done to you, Hinata-chan. You still haven't explained why you became Jiraiya-sama's Editor-in-Chief for his Icha Icha novels."

A loud gasp was heard from Kankuro. "You're his editor? Man, those books were my holy scrolls! I have a complete set in my room I should have them autographed! That would totally make my day!" Gaara elbowed his brother on his ribs, which earned a holler of pain from the middle child.

"Oh, that. I still have flashbacks on what happened."

"Care to share?" Temari asked.

"Okay, here goes."

_Flashback_

_I was sitting under a shady tree, reading the notes onee-chan gave me. It was a book about the terms and euphemisms men and women use to hide their sexual activities. Jiraiya-sama was sitting at my side, busy with his novels. I was still lost at what onee-chan's notes contained, she said that I had to memorize everything. What is it with her and memorization, anyway? She always made me memorize all these words that I barely knew. She said that someday it will be useful. I noticed Jiraiya-sama anxiously tapping at his paper. He seemed to be lost._

_"Is anything wrong, Jiraiya-sama?" like the concerned student that I am, I offered to talk to Jiraiya-sama, though most of the time I would really want nothing to do with him in dealing with his erotic novels._

_"I'm just lost for words, Hinata-chan. My vocabulary is getting limited with this old age of mine." Then he looked at me and something must have clicked. "You're very good with literature, Hinata-chan. Anko said that your vocabulary is wide, would you please, please, pretty please, give me a hand?" He was now pleading, his hands clasped and – oh, God – he's giving me the puppy eyes. A senile old perverted man giving me the puppy eyes is not what I need now. Maybe because I really want to help him and get rid of that stupid puppy eyes, I found myself agreeing to his request._

_"Hai, Jiraiya-sama." His eyes were misty with tears, seriously, I really am questioning who is the adult and the child here._

_"You see, Hinata-chan, writing a novel is difficult. Sometimes I don't have any flowery words to fully convey my feelings into phrases. So if I may ask, would you kindly use that pretty head of yours and give me 10 phrases that meant "SEX"?"_

_Oh, God, how I wished I stayed quiet. I should have stayed quiet!_

_"Well?" he patiently asked. What did I get myself into? Knowing that this was not the time to panic, I swam into the depths of my memory bank to remember all the words onee-chan made me memorize and all the sexual innuendoes I remembered that spouted from her precious mouth._

_"Nookie?"_

_"Naah, I've used it. Try another."_

_"Uhm, making love?"_

_"Too formal. Try again."_

_"U-uhm, M-making babies?" God, I'm stuttering again, don't stutter. Don't stutter. Don't stutter!_

_"Come on, Hinata-chan, you can be more creative than that! I want those with bigger impact! Frankly I thought Anko would have taught you better!"_

_He said he wanted bigger impact? I'm going to give him bigger impacts. I would not let onee-chan and Jiraiya-sama down._

_"Bumping uglys."_

_He immediately wrote the phrase on a sheet of paper._

_"Horizontal jogging."_

_"Go on, go on." He's encouraging me. I must have hit jackpots. I juggled my memory and like some emotionless turd, I spoke the words that I remembered monotonously._

_"Smacking the salmon."_

_"Burying the weasel."_

_"Stuffin' muffins."_

_I was practically on a roll now, and he's furiously catching up with me._

_"Smashing the door off the hinges."_

_"Hiding the helmet."_

_"Shucking the oyster." Seriously, what's with these words pertaining to food?_

_"And what would be Anko's two favorite phrases?" I paused for a moment. And then I remembered the terms she said to me when I asked why I was left out in the restaurant for two hours waiting for her to finish her date with the guy she once met in the restaurant. I blushed at that thought of onee-chan's business and the fact that what I just said were words that I would never have imagined I would ever know._

_I coughed before I turned away so he could not see my rouge-colored face. "Skinning the dingo upside down, and, taking a ride down the Hershey Highway_."

_Kami-sama, please forgive me… To my dead mother, I surrender to you my spirit. This is the downfall of Hyuuga Hinata._

_"Hinata-chan, you are truly a God-send!" He was patting my back while I was holding my stomach because I was afraid that I would vomit that instant._

_And then Jiraiya-sama pushed me into the cold depths of misery. _

_"I wish I could somehow show how much I appreciated the help, HInata-chan." Jiraiya-sama, just leave me alone and I'll be thankful just for that. "I know, I know! From now on, Hinata-chan, you will become my Editor-in-Chief! I'll give you commissions from my novels! And no questions asked!" And then he happily left me on the shade of the tree, his wide back was all I could see._

_I just literally dug my grave._

"And that was why I became Jiraiya-sama's Editor-in-Chief".

Hinata could literally count Temari's molars and premolars now. And pig snorts that came out of Kankuro were already engrained in her memory. Gaara was busy tousling his hair and closing his eyes. _Maybe he pitied me and didn't want to be rude to me by laughing, how considerate_, she thought.

Tenzou again, ever the supportive friend, patted her back. After their laughter died, Tenzou continued asking Hinata-chan. "I also heard about you and Anko getting lifetime membership cards from a bath house and a spa. Is that true?"

"Yes. And it's one of onee-chan's best talk show moments that I will never forget."

_We were going to the women's bath house in Yugakure. We entered the bathhouse and found ourselves surrounded by different women. They were having girl talks, and onee-chan, being the nosy person she is, decided to join them. She yanked me from the sides and forced the other girls to join us in a circle. _

_"Ugh, what am I gonna do? I'm having trouble choosing between two handsome suitors and I can't decide which one to choose" a girl in her early twenties said._

_"Tsch! That's easy, pretty jill! Make sure you get to check the amount he has in his bank account before you try to open your legs!" Oh, nee-san. You don't know how wrong that sounded. I looked at the girl and she seemed to be delighted by her advise._

_"I think my husband doesn't enjoy how I go down on him anymore. He doesn't seem to respond well last night." A nice woman voiced her problem. As always, onee-chan has something to say about problems like that._

_"Try eating some mint or eat ice cubes before you swallow him, hinny, I promise you that technique works wonders!" I seriously don't want to hear that, onee-chan. All I wanted was for my stiff back to get some relaxation. But it seemed the women were getting excited about onee-chan's words of wisdom._

_"I don't want to be pregnant and my lover is forced to wear condoms, but he doesn't seem to enjoy it. What should I do?" another woman chimed in. _

_"Buy the flavored dotted ones. Then turn it inside out. Make sure the dotted part is in contact with his member, use some lube for yourself, and voila! You smutty kangaroo, go ahead and grab them!" Now she's calling everyone animals. At least they weren't mean names like when she called us maggots in the Chuunin exams._

_A week after that encounter, we went to the bath house again. We were shocked at the smiling faces of the three women. Turns out the nice woman whom onee-chan gave the advice of using ice cubes and mint was the owner of the Bath house and the Spa across it. _

"And that's how we acquired lifetime memberships from that bathhouse and spa."

The Suna siblings (well, two of them) were on the floor laughing. Hinata hoped they would not suffer from lack jaw.

All these talk made her sleepy, and Tenzou saw her yawning underneath her cupped mouth. It's time for bed.

"I really do hope you enjoyed what Hinata-chan shared with you. Now you obviously know how she is in dire need of normal teenagers."

All siblings nodded. They too had a fun night. "Yeah, that was the best laughs I had over the years, you don't know how much we needed it, Hinata-chan! Thank you so much for coming and living with us here." All three siblings smiled, even Gaara.

"Uhm, thank you also, for letting me live here." She cupped her hands to her mouth because she yawned again.

"Yeah, and seeing that we are all tired from this very long day, I'm gonna go ahead to my room and get the best sleep ever! Goodnight to you all!" Kankuro hurriedly ran to his room. Temari and Gaara followed going to their respective rooms. Does Gaara sleep?

Tenzou held her hand. "I'm proud of you Hinata-chan." She could only give him a smile as they walked hand in hand towards their room.

* * *

In another part of Suna, a man lied on his bed, too caught up in his thoughts to get some sleep…

_I am seriously disappointed with how Mukade failed. But never mind. Those two shinobis especially that Crow. I will use some men to determine who she is, and when I find out any skeletons in her closet, I swear to Kami-sama I will crush her existence and find ways to eliminate her, immediately._

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And that, my friends, is the end of Chapter 8.. hope you enjoyed it... gotta go and grab something to drink :) Enjoy February (coz I sure as hell will not. haha)

R & R please :) thanks.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N

Hi, everyone!

I'm very, very, sorry that I haven't updated. I was busy with work, and for the past days, I've been... uhm... uninspired... haha..

To those who followed and reviewed, thank you :)

Unbeta'd...

Disclaimer : Still don't own Naruto.

here's the latest chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 9**

Paper. Files and files of paper.

That's what filled Gaara's office at the moment. Paper on the ground. Paper on the left side corner of his table. Paper on the drawer. Stacks of paper that had been the recipient of his glares for the last 10 minutes.

He sighed. Fuck this shit.

It had been six days since Shukaku was extracted, six days since he was brought back to life.

Six fucking days and he still can't sleep.

Why was sleep so elusive? Granted that he had never experienced it in his life (except those small minutes when he had to battle Naruto during Suna and Sound's invasion of Konoha), he longed for it. Craved for it. Fantasized about it.

What does it feel like to embrace yourself to the ecstasy of dreams and find bliss in a four o'clock REM?

Six fucking days and he still did not know.

And for the last six days, he had felt his descent into frustration and anger. His eyes were rimmed with black due to insomnia had somehow managed to create a different and scarier shade of blue-black. His eyes turned blood-shot red, his lids eager to shut themselves to oblivion, and yet his mind refused to relax. His usual imperial stance was now substituted with a crouch. His hands were always shaking, both from writing too many letters and mission orders and from exhaustion. His lips and jaw were tightened, tension was rolling in waves. Every muscle ached for tranquility, yet his genius mind could not comprehend why they just fucking won't relax and let loose! His ergonomic chair which used to provide support for his back and buttocks did not do anything for his physical and emotional turmoil.

Trouble. Tension. Turmoil.

Three nights ago, a kunoichi came to live in the tower.

Three nights ago, there was change. He thought he will be able to welcome change easily, thus his giddy thoughts and welcoming actions that night. But no, Gaara was never good when the old is replaced with the new. Now he had realized, he was never good in coping with changes. Maybe never will.

Maybe he was just riding the euphoria of his siblings, maybe he was being lax because of Shukaku's extraction, maybe he was too damn caught up with everything, and maybe three nights ago he thought he was some demi-God who was of Type B personality that would just go with the flow.

And maybe all this frustration, the hunger for rest, his growing impatience and hostility resulted to something overwhelming. Something that's been bothering him the morning after Hinata arrived.

Doubt.

His determination to help and be supportive of Hinata was waning. Heck, maybe he was too caught up in the moment three nights ago to think that he and his siblings will be able to do this request from Konoha. But how must he do that when the next morning came, Temari the ambassador was requested immediately by the Hokage to go to Konoha. Kankuro's Puppet Brigade was being sent away ASAP because they were invited by the Suna Daimyo for a party that night. Yamato also left and was on his way to meet the new Team 7.

Was Kami-sama punishing him for all the sins he had made in the past?

That left him and Hinata alone in the Kazekage tower for days.

At first, he thought that living with the kunoichi was fine. Now he highly doubted that.

His sand reacted to her. He thought she was cute. Her blushes and smiles were amusing.

Thrash all that! Fuck all that!

Those things were delusions! Temporary recluse to ail his pathetic existence. Healing balms for all the things lacking in his life. He thought her presence was some good form of change? Scratch that.

**_She only reminded him of people, and things. Things that he would not want to delve deeper. Not now. Not so soon. _**

That's why he had been avoiding her all this time. He made sure the maids sent up his food to his office, and no one is welcome in his office unless necessary. He need not be reminded of his housemate, his only housemate at the moment. Because God knows, with his strength and his lack of sleep, he will not know how to handle things. Cope with things. Cope with change.

He looked at his office again, mentally counting the cracks on the wall.

On to the fourteenth crack, his vision landed on the small coffee table adjacent to it.

Much as he tried to retract his attention, his eyes betrayed him. His eyes landed on a portrait of a brown-haired woman with violet eyes. She wore a beige scarf, a violet poncho worn over her slender figure.

He was having a hard time admitting it, but Hinata only reminded her of her.

_Mother._

* * *

Four ounces of powdered valerian. Two pints of ..Vodka? Gin? Whiskey? Brandy?

Hinata groaned and closed her eyes. She massaged the bridge of her nose, trying to remember what alcohol she used in making her newest creation. These sleepless nights in Suna spent in the greenhouse was the main thing that's been keeping her sane. It drained her chakra.

Vodka. She used vodka to make the valerian tincture. Now she remembered.

These sleepless nights were making her restless, to the point that her senses have lulled and her limited happy memories were starting to fade. Memories are becoming foggy, like Yamato's reassuring smiles, Kakashi's sinister laughs while reading the Icha Icha series, crap, she can't even remember the smell of Pakkun's Floral Green shampoo. A few days in Central Suna had already broken her defenses. How will she survive the friggin' days to come?

She probably could, if only Temari was here, and Kankuro, her ANBU partner. She was her saving grace, while the Konoha kunoichi has yet to train with Kankuro. Why do they have to be gone the next morning? Every fiber of her being was crying for them to come back and rescue her from this torture.

But what about Gaara?

It is common knowledge that it takes more muscles to frown than the number of muscles to smile. But Hinata could only suffice (and imagine) that the only expression she could wear now is a dumb look on her face. She shook her head.

She entered the fifth door of the topmost floor of the Kazekage Tower. Water has always been her affinity, thus her sensitivity to its presence and life force. If what she sensed using her chakra the moment she stepped into the tower was right, this was the bathhouse.

It was midnight, and her eyes are now back to their lavender hue. Heavy-lidded eyes scanned the room. The bathhouse was anything but Suna – it screamed of Konoha. From its green walls, to the bamboo shoots aesthetically placed inside the room, it was quite evident that this bathhouse became the recluse for the Sand Siblings. A shower at the right corner, a bath tub at the left; and a 10 - foot wide, 3 feet deep hot tub in the middle covered in unglazed ceramic tiles. With its inviting swirls and ripples, and Hinata could only stop herself from jumping to the hot tub and drown herself to insanity.

This is bliss.

She placed her bag to the left side of the hot tub and stripped, including the mask. She had done so many things in the greenhouse for two days (she only came back to the Tower for dinner). She examined her bag, and was pleased of her accomplishments. Shampoos. Salves. Bath oils. Soaps. Hand and Body Lotions. Temporary hair dyes that lasted from a few hours to a few days, even up to a year. From lavenders to chamomiles, to peaches and pears. She made them all to kill time, and of course, to tire herself. She doesn't know where all that diligence sprung, but she knew she was in too deep - she even made candles, for Kami's sake! Pakkun once commented she was like a walking body shop. Oh, how she missed that pug.

Eyeing her collection, she grabbed the bath oil and shampoo and made her way to the shower. Hinata hurriedly cleansed her hair and body and rinsed herself. She went back to her bag and grabbed a vial, a towel, and another translucent container.

Hinata poured the contents of the vial, and touched the water's surface to disperse the valerian tincture. Valerian is widely used for rheumatic attacks and swollen joints, but it can also be used for bathwaters. She opened the translucent container and smiled. This was her favorite: lavender oil. She poured them again in the tub, waited for a few minutes, and slowly sunk herself to the tub. Lavender was always good in conquering headache and minor mental depression.

Minor? She scoffed. Who was she kidding? Her _demons _have been having a blast invading her mind and drowning her ears with nuisance. Kami-sama, the eery voice of Danzo and the pedophilic tones that can only belong to Orochimaru had been supplying her fucked-up brain with more bashing than a full-out fight amongst Uchiha Sasuke's notorious fangirls.

_My, my, if it isn't our favorite little girl. Didn't expect me to come back now, eh? Kukukuku. Not too happy that I've messed up your body, Hina-chan?_

Aah, that Orochimaru. The flamboyant Sannin with the Sharingan fettish. Konoha's own quirky pedobear. When you think that he would just die, he wouldn't. She was massaging her neck temples now, as if her slow circular motions would take away that annoying bastard's taunting.

_How much more are you going to lose, Hyuuga? Hmmm, let me see that again. First you lost your mother's life and your GENIUS father lost his interest in you. Then you lost the friendship and bond with your uncle and GENIUS Branch member cousin when you were too pathetic to protect yourself from being kidnapped by Kumo . Add insult to injury, you even lost your title as heiress to your GENIUS sister. Tell me, Hyuuga, how many more of them are you going to lose? Foolish little girl... You are the bane of these Genius' existence, Hyuuga, and compared to them, you are a mere fodder…. Oh, I have an idea… A fodder like you should not be allowed to reproduce; Kami-sama knows what kind of insolent pathetic fool of a shinobi would a girl like you bear to this world. They'll be worthless! … So why don't we do something about it?_

Tsk. She could recite that man's eulogy to a 12-year-old Hinata anytime. Shimura Danzo, esteemed (?) Konoha elder. Root ANBU's stuck-up utilitarian leader, a.k.a. Konoha's Hiruzen-obsessed geezer with the face that could launch a thousand flies. Hinata rolled her shoulders, and massaged her trapezius muscles one hand at a time. She sunk herself lower, completely submerging herself.

He was even more annoying than the slithering jackass.

_Tsk. Tsk. How could I forget. Let's add another point to your growing list of failures and losses, shall we? You might not appreciate me telling you this, seeing that I don't think you'll make it alive out here…. Do you know why you're here, Hyuuga? Because someone stumbled upon a discovery involving you…. Tut, tut… Don't give me that look, Hyuuga. I might not know everything, but I will… soon… You'll never make it out of here… But I guess, that's a good thing…. I'm saving you now from a catastrophic heartache… Seeing that the whistleblower that I once met was one of your pathetic little "friends"._

She immediately emerged her head from the tub, and inhaled sharply. This was why she doesn't come in to the Kazekage tower especially at night, dammit. After a lot of internal battles regarding her reaction at seeing him. Those blushes and reactions she gained from the redhead, she deduced later, was mainly because of euphoria. Euphoria for change. Euphoria for the unknown. Euphoria for independence.

But she was wrong. She will always be dependent of Kakashi and Yamato and Pakkun and the rest of the Ninken. Of Anko's hilarity and camaraderie and sisterly tsundere affections; of Jiraiya-sama's popsicle treats and Hinata-exclusive fatherly affections. Of Tsunade-sama's letters motherly words that accompany the strict Slave Driver's mission orders. Of the Honored Sibling's love… She could go on and on.

From Yashamaru-sama to the Fourth Kazekage-sama. To Mukade who was later found out to be Sasori's spy.

Everytime she remembered about Gaara, she would be reminded of betrayal and the loss of trust.

**_He only reminded her of people, and things. Things that she would not want to delve deeper. Not now. Not so soon. _**

It's too early for her to toughen up and face him. She doesn't want to face a walking reminder of her .

She pushed herself out of the tub, water cascading to her naked form. She patted her hair and wrapped herself with the towel. Hinata grabbed her dirty clothes as well as her empty herbal containers and placed them in the bag.

The kunoichi made a beeline to the door and opened it, just as all the electricity went out.

A few things happened in a span of less than 5 minutes.

One, her shinobi training and survival instincts automatically activated, despite her low chakra reserves.

Two, the person who was about to enter the bath house was also caught off-guard by the power shortage.

Three, whoever that person was, suddenly strangled her neck and pushed her to the ground with such force that made her head spin after it collided with the floor. The person who strangled her was now straddling her, locking her feet with his. His grip was strong, and she was locked.

Four, even with the depleted chakra and the slightly slowed response, she was able to close the tenketsus in his hands, arms and shoulders.

Five, because of the so-called "brawl", she discovered that her towel was now long gone. That person's upper extremities slumped unto her torso after she closed the tenketsu points,placing that person's head unto the valley of her breast. A boob pillow? She mentally winced.

Six, that said person, she realized with horror, was now also naked, when she flipped them over. Now she was straddling him.

Seven, that said person was now shivering, she could feel his chills. And his very, very, hot temperature. Her eyebrows rose. How dare he!

Eight, Kami-sama's sense of humor has graced upon her and her companion on the most infuriating moment, because the power supply just came back. Their lack of clothing was not the most ideal right now.

Nine, the person under him was OBVIOUSLY male, sweaty, and…hyperthermic. Chills shook his frame, his eyes were glazed, and he was muttering something incoherent. He was in a delirium, possibly may go unconscious. She looked down to the male under him, assessed her soon-to-be patient, and gulped.

Ten, she was trapped in a compromising position. Naked. In the tower's bathhouse. With _the_ delirius Sabaku no Gaara. And his well-endowed, 8-inch shaved and circumcised magnificence.

Things just went from pudding to poop real quick.

* * *

A/N

Haha :D More GaaHina on the next chapter...

Wanna read more? R & R pls :D. Thanks


	11. Chapter 11

A/N

thank you all for the reviews and follows :D it was a pleasure knowing that there are still those that are interested in this fic :D Especially those who keep coming and gave me feedbacks - thank you, thank you, thank you...

With regards to the last sentence on the previous chapter, that was one of my favorite quotes from a professor, way back in college... as well as the "assumption is the mother of all fuck-ups" quote... maybe lawyers get to say the best quotes? gotta thank that man someday... haha..

it's late night here and my sleeping pattern is distorted... again :| i hope this chapter wouldn't bore you, and oh, the introduction of the OC is needed in reference for future chapters, so please bear with me :D it may come out as a rant, but we'll get there when we get there ;)

more fluff will come once the awkwardness has settled :D :D :D

hope you'll enjoy chapter 10 :)

Disclaimer: As always, i don't own naruto...

p.s. Don't forget to R & R, so i can get inspired in writing the next chapter :D... and happy birthday to George Washington...

p.s.s. like previous chapters, unbetaed...

* * *

**Chapter 10**

_I swear to God I'm never going back to that Daimyo's house ever again._

To summarize it, the party at the Daimyo's house was a bitch. Kankuro was not happy. He had to force every single cell in his body to prevent himself from punching and massacring a certain fuckfaced member of the 9 –man cell sent to the Daimyo's Palace, aptly named Yamazaki "a.k.a. Dildo Head" Aiba . That douchtard, histrionic, degenerate, fuckchop of a shinobi ruined _everything_ about that trip. His presence was already unwarranted – that trip was supposed to be exclusive for the 8-man cell Puppet Brigade only, but NO! Mr. Johnny Dickshot, with his batshit position as ANBU Captain imposed himself to go with the team. Because, and Kankuro quoted the narcissistic dummy, it was "a golden opportunity for Sunagakure to showcase its best shinobis to the wind Daimyo. Sending only a bunch of puppet shinobis into his Lordship's terrain without a high ranking official would only insult the Daimyo. He may think that Kazekage-sama does not see him as a priority and of high importance, which may be received by the Daimyo as an insult."

_And here we thought that the Uchiha Prince was one condescending jerk. He made the Uchiha look like a fucking saint, at least Sasuke recognized the accomplishments of Lee._

_Insult the Daimyo, my ass, if anything, that Aibastard was the biggest pompous ass-kisser in all five shinobi villages_. He never failed to stick his tongue down somebody's butt and gave them the thorough licking. And all throughout their stay, he made it look like the Puppet Brigade was his flock of sheep, and he was the self-righteous shepherd to guide them to their salvation. If only that self-righteous Suna-elder father of his was not there, and if he wasn't the Daimyo's godchild (that's what he said, though Kankuro doubts it) his brigade could have plowed that whoreson asshat into the depths of the nearest ocean and pretend that he never went with them to begin with. Cocksucking heathen.

Seriously, Kankuro could admit to himself that he may sometimes be a cocky bastard, but never - NEVER would he use his position in the ranks as well as his family tree to downplay the rules and put himself on the top. That's just wrong. And he's sure as hell would not use his father's name to sidestep other people.

He arrived infront of the tower. It was now 10 AM in Suna – hot, humid and horrendous.

He entered the Kazekage Tower, and dragged his feet to his room for a much needed shower. 20 minutes later he would be ready to don his black cat-like suit and look for his family. How was Temari's visit to Konoha? Hopefully nothing stupid happened between her and that lazy cloud-gazing Nara. He fervently hoped that things would remain at a stand still, meaning Temari's love life (and sexual frustrations) would hopefully stick with the status quo, stagnant like a body of water well-infested with tadpoles and mosquitoes.

What about his brother? Tsch. Kankuro snorted. Ah, his very stoic and asexual brother whose interests to the opposite sex is as big as a pebble. As if that walking block of ice would ever be interested in one. The closest living thing that has the highest probability of becoming Gaara's girlfriend would have to be his cactus, idly sitting in his office window. Kankuro inwardly laughed, they'd both make a good relationship, since in more ways than one they can be pricks.

Try as his brother might to ward off his growing fanbase, those catatonic women just wouldn't take no for an answer. Ever since Gaara turned 15, they would receive letters and gifts from these women, and some even had the nerve to cry in front of the tower, wailing and gnawing their claws to the poor tower guards, demanding that they meet the Kazekage because he got them impregnated with babies (twins, triplets, even quadruplets) or that he got them raped, blackbailed, or worse, gangbanged by Gaara's clones in one of the caves in the middle of the desert. Seriously, the lies these women tell all for the sake of power, privilege, and bragging rights. They think that what they're doing would catch his brother's attention? Burn them all to hell, they're only pushing him away, thus making that socially stunted person even more awkward.

And Hinata. Well, she's another case. The one who had a crush on Konoha's dead last when they were younger. Who blushed when the ramen-lover was near and who gave salves to his teammate and the dobe, for the treatment of their wounds. The one who nearly died because of the anal-retentive personality of her genius cousin. Oh, yes, he saw that. That woman made a complete 180 and mollified everyone. Who would have guessed that years after that incident, she would become one of Konoha's finest ANBU and he had been lucky enough to be her partner. Now that he's back, maybe they could have some training and spar?

He wrapped a towel around his waist and headed to his closet. Unfortunately he wasn't the only one in the room.

Temari was sitting on his bed, her arms crossed around her chest, impatient fingers tapping the skin of her toned biceps. Obviously she was waiting for him.

"Get dressed, we need to get going."

"Well, good morning, Sis. How have you been? How was your trip to Konoha, was everything at par with your standards? And hello to you, too, welcome back to Suna."

Temari rolled her eyes, and hugged her brother. "There you go, now that's a proper greeting, wasn't so hard was it, _onee-san_?" He chastised her, but with the hint of humor. "Well, I never took you to be one for formalities, _otooto_." She hugged his brother tightly.

Was she tense?

"What's wrong now?" He managed to ransack his closet, trying to find a decent cat-like suit amidst the chaos of the jungle, a.k.a. his bedroom. He found one, quickly donned his boxers and hurriedly wore his suit.

"I just arrived here 30 minutes ago, only to find out that Gaara's missing. I can't find him in the tower. He's not in his office, it's already 10 AM. I've already arranged for Baki-sensei to do a henge of Gaara and pretend to be him, sit in the Kazekage's office. I've already cancelled all his appointments, and I want you and me to search Central Suna and possibly the mountains / desert for him." She kept pacing around Kankuro's room, sorting out his dirty and clean clothes – a means to calm her nerves for his missing brother. "You know he leaves messages for us when he's not in his office, Kankuro, and it's not like him to not be in his office this late in the morning."

"Why don't you go to his room?"

His sister only gave him a you're-really-that-stupid-aren't-you look. "We both know that Gaara is very territorial with his room, he doesn't like people entering there. He even cleans his own room, Kankuro, unlike you who has to trash everything in this place and make the Forest of Death look like it won the award for Village's Cleanest Park."

"Why don't we ask help from Hinata-chan, she's the tracker and sensor amongst us."

Temary groaned. "The maids have told me that Hinata-chan, or Tori-san for them never went home ever since we left, too. I went to her room and it looked like the sheets weren't even touched. And Gaara's been locking himself in his office too; his meals were even delivered straight to his office. What the fuck happened here?"

Kankuro smirked. "Maybe they were trying to lighten up their failed childhood, you know, trying to compensate for their inadequacies, decided to play shinobi hide-and-seek."

"What if Hinata-chan was kidnapped again by Kumogakure because of her Byakugan, and Gaara went after her, was now rescuing her, and failed to give us a message?"

"I doubt Kumo knows her existence, Tem, last time we checked only the Hokage and her lackies, Ebizo-sama and us know that she's alive." He sat on his bed, still following his sister's nervous pacing.

"What if she was kidnapped by Akatsuki, and thrown to the ocean to become shark food. You do know that one of Akatsuki's members looks like a fish, and him paired with the Uchiha genius it would be child's play for them to grab her."

"Seriously, Tem, Gaara kidnapped was enough, I don't have to think of another kidnapping happening under our nose."

"What if she decided this tower was too boring for her, went on a trip by herself, was forced to become a sex slave in a brothel and Gaara was tailing her– "

"Geez, Tem, would you please stop it!" He grabbed his sister by her shoulders and shook her a little. "You PMSing had already given me enough headaches, no point in speculating something we don't know, okay? And what was this about Hinata kidnapped again by Kumo?"

She was lead to the bed by his brother where they sat. "I had a few tea sessions with Sakura, Ino and Tenten, we had sometime for girl-talk. One thing lead to another, and it came to a point where the topic landed on Hinata-chan. On her third birthday, she was once abducted by Kumo for her Byakugan, but the Kumo shinobi was killed by her father, Hyuuga Hiashi-sama. Later, Kumo wanted Hyuuga-sama's head, their demand for him killing one of their own. If the Hyuugas would not yield, a war between Konoha and Kumo would eventually happen. Hyuuga Hizashi-sama, Hinata-chan's uncle and Neji's father, sacrificed himself in lieu of his twin, thus leading to his death. This was the cause of Neji being branded the cursed seal, and the start of Neji's resentment to Hinata-chan, as what we've witnessed in the Chuunin Exams." She took in a deep breath, his brother rubbed his hands on her back. "Tenten said that Neji and Hinata had a long talk before she disappeared, that both were willing to start over and build their relationship again. Just when they have been trying to sort out things, she had to be killed. Tenten said she never saw her teammate so distraught and remorseful over the loss of his cousin. Neji was never the same. The House of Hyuuga had never been so cold." She looked at his brother. "You see, Kankuro? There are so many things common between Gaara and Hinata-chan, and both have suffered enough. For now we're the only people she has to become her support, and I don't think I would want another being to go through all that again."

"Sssh, ssssh, calm down, sis." He rubbed her shoulders affectionately. "She can't be kidnapped, she's an ANBU, and Gaara's defense is one of the best, I doubt he would want to let someone hurt Hinata-chan – she's our guest, she's our comrade, she's our friend." He smirked when Temari nodded. "Besides, the worst that can happen between those two is if they somehow decided to elope to a village far far away, abandoned everything in this place, went MIA, registered themselves as civilians and went on a journey to play house and create the cutest Hyuuga-Sabaku babies."

A lighthearted smack grazed Kankuro's arms, making him wince. "That's the most absurd thing that came out of your brain, you dimwit!" Her sister was now laughing, apparently amused by his statement. "We both know that Gaara doesn't have a romantic bone in his body! And you know that he hates to be touched!"

He was laughing too, to appease her sister's tension. But now they have more pressing matters to deal with. "Hahaha, I know, sis…. Tell you what, I'd search the caves, the oasis, and the desert, look for our baby brother there. You go to the greenhouse, the hospital, market, training grounds – anywhere near here. We won't notify the ANBU, we'll have to be discreet. We'll come back in 45 minutes here, and that will be the time we will go invade Gaara's room. That will be our last resort."

His sister nodded, and they both headed out, searching for their brother and their friend.

* * *

**_45 minutes later_**

Two tired and sweaty shinobis approached a 10 ft. double door made of pine.

"Any luck?" the irritation and concern in Temari's question was glaring to her younger brother.

Kankuro was puffing, obviously distraught by the lack of oxygen and the lack of his brother and Hinata's presence. He could only shook his head.

"Your time to shine, bro." Kankuro smirked evily, and positioned himself on the door's keyhole. Those childhood days spent on nitpicking the keyholes of all the rooms in the Kazekage Tower weren't there for naught.

A soft click was heard, indicating that the doors were now open. Carefully and silently, Temari and Kankuro treaded into the dark room, closed the doors, and proceeded to the double door made of glass, which lead to Gaara's balcony. A pair of crimson red curtains hung from ceiling to floor, covering the room in total darkness. Both held their breaths, and with a powerful yank from each side, the curtains parted. The warm sun and its luminous rays lazily provided enough lighting on Gaara's room. Temari and Kankuro held their breaths.

Gaara's once polished floor was covered with footprints, one obviously Gaara's, the other was smaller… A woman's?

His eyes landed on a pair of towels, one crimson, the other lavender. A few soiled clothes littered on the foot of the bed, some washcloth, and a basin.

A gasp escaped from Temari's mouth, and Kankuro's vision riveted from his sister to the direction her eyes darted. There was a figure on his brother's bed.

Correction – _figures_.

Bed sheets crumpled, two figures lay on his brother's king-sized bed. Gaara was lying on his back, and _asleep_ for the first time in his life. The man's chest was visible, his right arm encased the woman's head into a loose hug, his hand landed on her left shoulder; the other hand shielded his eyes. The sleeping woman wore a dark red shirt (obviously his brother's), was lying on her left side, her small hand placed on top of his toned chest. Her midnight blue hair fell on his brother's pillows, a dark curtain in contrast to his pale sheets. Both their lower extremities were enclosed in his brother's blankets.

Kankuro was floored. Literally. His eyes were bulged, his mouth agape. The only thing to compensate for his shock was a shout.

**"WHAT THE FUCK, BRO!?"**

Hinata and Gaara suddenly woke up, Gaara garbed only in his boxers, his scar-free chest glistened with sweat and something else that's very sticky. His usually disheveled hair was sticky with sweat, making an even rowdier effect to his healthy blood red hair. Hinata, on the other hand, held a kunai, ready for an attacker. Her lack of clothing was also obvious (her taut nipples were evident), D-cupped breasts swayed with her movement. She was clad with his brother's red shirt, and blue stripe boxers which obviously came from his brother's closet that reached her knees and hung low on her waist. Her hair was in disarray, obviously it wasn't combed when she slept – her bangs stuck to her forehead like glue. Her neck was laced with bruises – handprints? If he was in another time and place (and possibly another life), Kankuro would have enjoyed to see Hinata's current state doing the jumpingjacks (will those breasts sway that way, too?), but now was not the case – because obviously she just woke up, found on the same bed - _slept with_ - his once homicidal emotional wreck of a brother.

Melted candles on his bedside tables, a bowl of sliced lemons, a spoon, a jar of… what the fuck is that? Honey? What the hell is honey doing on Gaara's bedroom? He scanned the other containers – lavender, chamomile, salves…. Shitty creams that obviously did not belong in his brother's very masculine room. Damn, all these things gave him the creeps. Dare he say that the setting came off as… _romantic_? Did he become intimate with Hinata? Did he? If he did, Kankuro never thought that Gaara had a knack for the syrupy, the limey, and the kinky (those handprints on Hinata's elegant neck were proofs enough that he was – no,_ they_ – were into BDSM).

_Seme_ Gaara and _Uke_ Hinata.

_Holy Fuck_, _my brother just got laid_!

A croaky voice broke him from his reverie. _Since when did_ _Gaara croak?_

"This is not what it looks like."

* * *

how was it ?! haha..

R & R please :) thanks


	12. Chapter 12

A/ N

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Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto.

p.s. As always, unbetaed... Raves, flames, reviews are very much welcome! Thanks ;)

* * *

**Chapter 11**

This was not how he wanted his morning to start.

When he finally had the chance to sleep, his brother and sister had to come and barge inside his room in the most unfortunate times. It was their first time to come to his territory, the first time that Kankuro had to pick on his keyhole and the first time he had to see her sister sporting a very worried expression which made her look so _old_.

Yes, he will admit. Last night was the start of "Gaara's firsts: his collection of "first times"…

_One_. Last night was the first time he had seen a naked female. His full-frontal naked housemate, no less. His eidetic memory was now his curse, because even if he was sick (and delusional) his genius brain and excellent memory banks could describe _exactly_ what he saw, and it would be very inappropriate for him to enumerate in detail the characteristics of Hinata's assets and bodily curves.

_Two_. It was also his first time getting sick. He collapsed in exhaustion, to the point of having a very high fever and disturbing hallucinations. Shukaku, just like Kurama the Kyuubi, provided Gaara with the best health any man could wish. Never had he been sick or admitted in a hospital, and no medic was sane enough to conduct a physical assessment on him (partly because of fear, and mostly because it was deemed unnecessary). Proof of that was in his very skin – no single scar marred his pale complexion.

_Three_. His chakra points were closed for the first time last night. The so-called Gentle Fist was not so gentle at all. The pain of having your tenketsu closed was fucking excruciating. What kind of person named that technique Gentle Fist anyway? Must be one hell of a genius to come up with a misnomer.

_Four_. Hinata was the first person to sleep in his bed.

_Five_. Hinata was the first person to sleep in his bed. **With him – **emphasis on that. What's even more shocking for his siblings was that she was able to place her hand in his chest without being attacked by his sand (his gourd was placed beside one of the tables).

So him and his siblings are gathered now in Temari's room, waiting for Hinata to come. They've now changed into their everyday clothes. His nosy sister demanded to know what happened, his perverted brother wanted the sordid details, and he just wanted them to leave them alone. Hinata wasn't really helping by becoming too silent.

The moment knocks came outside Temari's room and the woman was allowed inside, the Konoha nin, garbed in her jounin uniform minus the hita-ite, immediately made a sound barrier before anything could explode. _Smart woman_, he mused.

And then the explosion came.

"GONE FOR A FEW DAYS AND THIS IS WHAT WE FOUND OUT –

_"GONE FOR A FEW DAYS AND YOU'VE ALREADY GOT INTO HER PANTS – _"

"WHAT IF SOMEONE ELSE SAW YOU – IT WOULD HAVE BEEN CATASTROPHIC – "

"_SO PROUD OF YOU, BRO, SO PROUD _(wipes away tears of joy)_ YOU FINALLY UPGRADED YOUR EMOTIONAL RANGE FROM PEBBLE TO A FISTFUL OF ROCK. NOT MUCH OF AN IMPROVEMENT BUT IT'S A START –_ "

"IF THE ELDERS KNEW OF THIS THEY WOULD HAVE CAGED HER AND INTERROGATED HER, STRANGLED HER OR WORSE KILLED HER – "

"_NEVER THOUGHT THAT I'D GET TO SEE THE DAY THAT MY BROTHER WOULD BE CAUGHT IN BED WITH A WOMAN, A VERY PRETTY AND SKILLFUL WOMAN, I'M VERY PROUD OF YOUR STANDARDS, BRO! YOU MUST HAVE JUMPED HER BONES SO FAST SHE DID NOT HAVE TIME TO REACT TO YOUR BDSM PATRONAGE! THOSE BRUISES HAVE GOT TO BE PROOF OF YOUR WILD CARNAGE –_"

"AND WHAT WOULD KONOHA SAY? THEY TRUSTED YOU TO TAKE CARE OF HER, NOT SHOVE YOUR DICK ON HER AND PLAY NOOKIE EVERYTIME YOU WANT -"

"_I REALLY HAVE NO QUALMS IF YOU CONTINUE THIS, MY DEAR BROTHER, I CAN EVEN LEND YOU MATERIALS, TO IMPROVE YOUR ESCAPADES! MAN, THAT WOULD BE SO COOL! WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO CONSTRUCT YOU A SEX SWING? I'VE BEEN PLANNING ON BUILDING ONE. JUST ATTACH IT TO YOUR CEILING AND YOU BOTH CAN RIDE AND HAVE SEX AS IF YOU'RE ON CLOUD 9 AND YOU CAN CUM-_"

"SILENCE!"

Both older shinobis stopped to look at two scarlet teenagers. Hinata was covering her ruddy face with her small hands, obviously embarrassed, and refused to look at Kankuro and Temari. Gaara, who was equally red, was both infuriated and embarrassed. He stood up and faced his two siblings.

"Why the fuck are you shouting? We gathered here so we can talk, not scream at each other's faces! We're not here to embarrass Hinata-chan or to discuss what the hell the council thinks. Temari, you are becoming morbid and paranoid, I thought that was the job of the council, not yours. And you, Kankuro, you seriously need a therapist, spending most of your time with your magazines is not therapeutic. For Kami's sake, we're all adults here, stop jumping into conclusions and fucking hear. Us. Out!" Gaara may not be shouting, but his voice dipped into a venomous tone, his commanding aura overwhelmed the three people inside Temari's room.

"U-uhm, Temari-chan, what you saw on Gaara's bedroom was… was because he was hot." A few seconds later, Hinata realized her mistake and turned even redder. "N-no! I didn't mean it like that! O-oh, I'm such a mess." She bowed her head, and poked her index fingers nervously.

"You're not making things easy for her, Temari, Kankuro," Gaara growled.

Temari's expression softened, she herself was confused and she doesn't want to pin the blame on the poor girl. "I'm sorry, Hinata-chan, it was just that… I… we were shocked, that's all! But if there really is an explanation to this, I'll listen."

"Yeah, it's not everyday that you get to see my brother in that… state. And, well, I was shocked, too. Sorry for shouting at ya." Kankuro scratched his neck, embarrassed by the turn of events. "Go on please."

She explained about her sleeping problems, the possibility of having nightmares but left out the part where she was hearing voices. She explained that during the power failure, Gaara in his disillusioned state attacked her, and she attacked back by closing his tenketsus. His hands were useless at that time, and she also stated, albeit reluctantly, that she saw Gaara naked (laughs from Temari and Kankuro, blushes from Gaara), and dragged him into his room and dressed him (only in his boxers). She was about to go to her room, but Gaara's sand grabbed her and demanded that she was not to leave him alone.

"Why would you think he wouldn't want to be left alone?" Temari interjected.

The Konoha nin looked sideways at Gaara, and sighed, "He said that he too was hearing voices, and seeing things. His hallucinations come and go, I think when he saw me in the bath house he thought I was an enemy and that's why he attacked. Later, when we were inside his room, he probably saw me in another form, thus he didn't want me to leave. So I didn't left him, and I don't want him to see me naked anymore, that's why I grabbed some clothes in his closet and donned them." She blushed and directed her gaze to Gaara. "I'm sorry, Gaara, I'll wash and return them to you later."

Gaara shook his head, and to his siblings' surprise, enclosed his right hand to Hinata's left. "Don't think about it. It's yours now." To which the Konoha nin only nodded. "You can continue." He reluctantly let go of her hand.

"The few days that I haven't slept, I made some salves in the greenhouses. I applied some to the arm bruises I gave him, and applied another kind of salve on his chest, legs, forehead and feet for his fever. I used a shadow clone to get some basin and cold water, applied them intermittently in his forehead, to cool him down. My clone also took some lemons from the greenhouse, honey from your kitchen, and a few kitchen utensils. The candles were made of lavender, they were for his olfactory senses, and hopefully calm his tense muscles as well as his erratic brain activities. Lemon juice was for his fever. Honey is also effective for his fatigue and low blood sugar that he may possibly had. Even after all that, he was still having chills, that's why I lied beside him and hugged him, to provide body heat. It wasn't his fault actually. If only my chakra level wasn't low, I might have been able to avoid forcing him to drink what I prepared. I'm sorry." She bowed her head again, ashamed of her incompetence.

"Oh, no, no, Hinata-chan, you don't have to be sorry, stop apologizing." Temari hugged the smaller woman who was on the verge of tears. "You've done so much, if I was even here I wouldn't be able to do all that. Kankuro and I wouldn't have enough power to subdue my brother, and I certainly would not know how to treat him medically. We should be the one apologizing. Thank you for taking care of him." She waited for a few minutes, soothing the girl,

"Really?" Temari nodded. "You know what, the two of us should go to Central Suna! We need to have some girl talk and treat ourselves, let's go for some shopping!" Hinata gasped. "But I need to get my laundry done!"

"I'll help you with your laundry and _then_ we go shopping~! God knows I need that kind of therapy right now!" to which the Hyuuga giggled and nodded. Temari was about to lead the both of them out of her room when Gaara stood and spoke.

"Temari. Kankuro." Both siblings turned to look at their brother. There really is no point in beating around the bush, so Gaara stared at them seriously. "I want Hinata-chan to be my roommate. No need for the both of you to room with us." Before siblings could us, he decided to point out his reasons.

"She's the only one who can close my tenketsus, and my sand doesn't seem to be hostile to her. Her salves calm me, she was able to put me to sleep. And the most important thing is, and I might as well stress this out, she can have me as a bedmate and sleep, and she'll be up in the morning _alive_. She can't sleep without someone beside her, she's the only one I can tolerate getting 5 inches near me. We'll both benefit from it."

"And before you could say anything, I don't want you inside the room, because there may come a time that she _might _be having nightmares and Kami knows what she _might_ do to you. At least my sand will automatically protect me."

They both looked at Hinata, who was looking everywhere but them. She kept mum, either that she approved of Gaara's suggestion or was too shy to voice out her opinion.

Reluctantly, both older siblings agreed.

Gaara looked at Hinata who also looked at her. "Kankuro and I will go to your room while you do your laundry, we'll be picking up your belongings and place them in my room. Is that okay with you, Hinata-chan?" He softened his voice, not wanting to intimidate the shy kunoichi further. She nodded. "Hinata-chan and I will do her laundry, Gaara, see you later!" she grabbed Hinata's hand and they both rushed to her room.

Gaara was ready to bolt out of the room when Kankuro moved in front of him, his hands on the back of his head, his face painted with a leer. Gaara's instincts told him that a talk was certainly coming, and he did not want to be in _any_ of his older brother's talks. He remained an impassive face, hopefully that would drive his brother away from his tracks.

"We need to talk, bro. Come with me to my room."

"What are we going to talk about? And your room stinks."

"Oh, you'll know when your there…. But we really do need to have a _brotherly_ talk."

Gaara groaned, but followed his brother's heed. For what it's worth, he really did miss talking with his brother. Maybe Kankuro had been requested by the Daimyo to relay information to him? Yeah, maybe that was it.

So he followed his brother, an innocent fly making his way to the spider's web.

* * *

The fates must be out to taunt him for the day.

It was now 8 PM, he had just finished some necessary paper works that needed his signatures. He was now on his way to his room – no, his and Hinata's room – and hopefully he'd be able to chat with her before they go to sleep. Time for a good shower.

A few hours ago, Kankuro led him to his messy room and made him sit for hours for a talk. Not just any talk, but _the_ talk – meaning, the type of talk that normal fathers give to their normal sons. Normal sons who probably went through changes at various ages. But since his father was dead and _wasn't_ normal and that Gaara was light years away from ever touching the word "normalcy", Kankuro seemed to think that it was up to him to explain to his poor brother the difference between men and women. From a man's reproductive system to that of the woman's to what their functions are, to how babies come from (it wasn't from birds-bees and storks, not that he asked about them when he was young – abnormal, isn't it?), to the different positions from Scissors to Wheelbarrows and the nonsense that spouted from his brother's potty mouth.

Gaara was unnerved.

No, unnerved was too light.

He will be scarred for the rest of his life, especially when his brother decided to casually use Akasuna no Sasori's puppet parents as model for "man" and "woman", and do a puppet show of what a man and woman does when they're alone.

He had finally concluded that his brother fell off of his rocker when he was an infant, placed back in the rocker and fell off again. Both times head first.

Temari wasn't helping either. Ever since she came back with Hinata when they went shopping, she was off laughing at a ruby-red kunoichi.

After shopping, Hinata decided that she would cook for them, and it was honestly the best thing he had for a very, very long time. Perfectly cooked steamed rice. Marinated Japanese mushrooms, with a soy sauce that boosted the natural umami in the mushrooms. Herbs like mitsuba and shiso that provided minty flavors. Nikujaga that melted in his mouth with beef cooked to perfection. Dessert was green tea layer cake, and even though he wasn't into sweets, it was one of the best desserts he honestly could enjoy every day. From Gaara's standpoint, Hinata, in just one sitting, became the greatest cook in Sunagakure.

That didn't escape Temari's attention too, because when Kankuro commended Hinata for a "_You're the best damned cook in Suna, Hinata-chan!_" comment, his sister said " _Hinata-chan's cooking isn't the only thing she's good at, you know, apparently she'd caught one of the best fishes in the market_." Which, in turn, earned his sister _a "Fish? What fish? We don't have fish in our meals now."_ comment from the confused Kazekage. Hinata choked on her water badly. Kankuro was wiping his mouth with his napkin in a very forceful manner so as to hide his laugh. Temari only snickered. _"Oh, brother, you might have a theoretical overload if I have to tell you now. Not today. Maybe next time._"

If these odd behaviors are to continue for the days to come, his new roommate could possibly become a walking template of the different shades of red. And it would also prove how much of an idiot he can be.

After his shower, he hurriedly changed and looked for his roommate. He sensed her chakra on the rooftop. It was a cloudless night, and the stars illuminated the grand sky, the full moon hung beautifully in the heavens. It was a good night for stargazing and night walks.

It will be their first night of sleeping beside each other.

With a light heart and a giddy step, he went outside his balcony, his sand reflexively formed into a cloud to carry him to the tower's rooftop.

Time to speak again with his roommate again.

* * *

A/N

R & R!

R & R!

Godamnit, R & R!

hahaha, can't help but chant...

a fic where gaara is the innocent and hinata is the knowledgeable one...

how the tables have turned...

reactions? hey, i will be really happy to read them! till next time :D


	13. Chapter 13

A/N

Hey! :D

Sorry for the late update. But I need to publish this before I get caught up with month-end reports...

Thanks to Hinatalicious for adding this fic into your favorites.

Many thanks also to SinTotchi, Aldedron , RiverWing21287 , KrisNdra13 , Hinatalicious , Bittersweet-Core , chibieiki for following ...

SinShu -Yep, they will... especially for future chapters. haha. thanks for the review.

Veraozao - thank you very much. :)

sailorangelmoon1 - i think that's the most enjoyable part. hahaha. thanks for the review btw :)

Guest - wow, thank you! and your definitely welcome :D don't worry. the perverse nature of some future natures will be there. i just hope that i can deliver. :D. especially the lemons...

I know this chapter may not come out as good, and you may not like it. It isn't romantic or fluffy, and may borderline come out as angsty... but i think it's there. lol. and it's 100% Gaahina. hope you'll give it a chance and enjoy it

This chapter is dedicated to that dude in the office who said that I don't have a romantic bone in my body... :|? Just because i've decided not to date co-workers doesn't mean I'm not romantic. :| :D oh, well...

Would gladly accept reviews from you...

**R & R please! :)**

as usual, unbetaed.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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**Chapter 12**

"Is that your summon?"

Hinata turned to the man and gave him a sincere smile. She wore a blue buttoned shirt made of silk, and matching pajama bottoms that were too big for her size. Gaara wore a wifebeater and dark blue pajamas. The moment he left his room, flew out of the balcony and went to the rooftop, she had deduced that the young Kazekage was going to have a talk with her. They still had a few things to clarify, and she couldn't be more relieved that she didn't have to sleep beside the man tonight without a decent conversation after last night.

"Hai, one of my most important summons." She petted the crow that cawed and nestled on her lap, contented at the petting the crow summoner was giving. "This is Minami*-chan, she's one of my messenger crows. She has a twin, by the way, another messenger named Kita*-chan. Her two older brothers, another set of twins, Higashi*-kun and Nishi*-kun, are the crows that I summon when I want to be transported. They're both ten foot tall. Their father is the head of the murder, the most powerful among them." The crow eyed Hinata who only gave the pet a smile, and then eyed the Kazekage. Gaara kept eye contact with the crow, and after a good 10 seconds later, the crow bowed its head.

"Hn. She's smart," he commented.

She smiled at him. Their eyes temporarily met, but Hinata, to Gaara's dismay, opted to stare at the full moon. "It may not be known to other people, but crows are one of the most intelligent animals. People may treat them as nuisances, underestimate them, treat them as pests because they scavenge for survival, and fear them because of the ill-omen and the representation of evil attached to their color." She continued petting the crow. "They're called monsters because they're different and unconventional. They are not afraid to kill, they can even attack bald eagles. What they do, there is no hesitation, no room for remorse. And it's all for the sake of their murder."

This is not just about crows, is it? Gaara was getting curious by every second.

"Can I sit beside you?" Gaara asked. Hinata nodded and focused her attention to petting the crow. Gaara placed himself beside her, and waited for her to continue speaking. Hinata silently praised the Kazekage. He was more of a listener than a speaker, and when he spoke they always made sense.

"Highly misunderstood beings they are. And yet they're one of the most loyal creatures, usually having a single mate for life unless one dies or captured. Attack their young ones and they'll be out for your head and nip you piece by piece."

She eyed the crow who had a staring contest with Gaara. Seeing the confusion on his face, she continued to explain. "She's memorizing your features. Your facial expressions, your body language - everything. She's observant, and maybe she's sizing you up now, if you can be trusted or not." She paused, and pulled some berries from her pocket. She offered them to the crow who happily nipped its beak to her master's treat. "They are not easy to trust beings outside of their species, but once you gain it, they'll be one of your fiercest and most loyal comrades for life."

She did not continue, so Gaara said the first thing he had been hoping to say to her after the conversation in Temari's room.

"Thank you."

Hinata froze. The only other explanation was that he remembered.

"For what?"

"For not telling them about who I thought I saw, and who I thought you were."

"You remember?"

"Most of it, yes. I have flashbacks. But I was awake before you were telling the story."

Wait. Aren't insomniacs prone to memory loss? And some hallucinations are not remembered? _But Gaara isn't a normal insomniac. _She mentally slapped herself. People who have hallucinations usually experience lapses in perception, but clearly he isn't. _Kami-sama knows what kind of brain he has. He may always be an exception. I don't want to delve deeper, it'll give me headaches. I'll just take his word for it. Add insult to injury, I wasn't even aware that he was fully awake by the time I was sobbing. Stupid me._

"For what it's worth, I'm glad that I was also able to see that side of you."

She looked at him. Long and hard. From his crimson hair, to the kanji tattoo on his forehead. His aquamarine eyes. His piercing and honest gaze. Those tanuki eyes that never wavered and are currently focused on her. His regal nose. His thin mouth. She found no signs of mockery, no tense facial muscles, no unnecessary swallowing and erratic heart rate.

Hinata clamped her lips, memories of their early morning conversations flooded her mind.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

"You smell nice, Okaa-san."

She was lying on her left side, facing Gaara, and hugging him. His chin was perched on top of her shoulders, while her hand was giving soothing backrubs to the ex-Jinchuuriki for the last 15 minutes.

He had been out for the last 15 minutes; the salves already did their magic in lowering his fever. Unfortunately, his hallucination was still there. "Your hair smells like - " He snuggled his nose to her hair, pressing his lips to his neck. _Kami-sama, this is getting really weird, it's the second time he's called me her mother, _the kunoichi thought. "Hmm… it smells like raspberries." He kissed her cheek and he chuckled. "Your skin smells like lavender and white jasmine."

_He may be wrong on identifying who I am, but his observation correctly matched the observations made by Pakkun and the pack. How does he know? I thought ninkens were the only one who can smell me up close and remember the smell. _And then she remembered the reports, that Gaara was once profiled to be very sensitive especially when he smelled blood. The part of his brain that controlled his olfactory nerves must have been very well developed.

She slowly retracted from their position, and held Gaara's face with both of her hands. Her eyes softened at the longing held by the Suna leader's tired aquamarine eyes. The same longing she saw when Kakashi had his moments muttering about "Obito" "Rin" and "Sensei".

The team dynamics of her ANBU team was not limited to the battlefield – it extended into the bedroom.

Because they were also a team plagued with nightmares.

"Gaara… I repeat, I am not your mother…. I'm Hinata … Hinata from Konoha."

He batted his eyelashes and darted them downwards. "You're not okaa-san?".

She almost cried by the crack in Gaara's voice. She herself longed for her biological mother, who unfortunately died while she was also young. Her adoptive mother was also dead, died in saving the person who is now having visual delusions and who's in bed with her and about to become a big pot of goo. In her opinion, Gaara is the loneliest person she had ever met since Naruto. Child demons, ex-outcasts, social pariahs – one decided to be cheerful and loud; the other became dark and homicidal.

_Takes one pariah to know another_. And she absolutely knew that feeling too. She wasn't a demon when she was a child, but being born in one of Konoha's noble clans that housed the strongest and most perfect soldiers, being the weird, silent, stuttering pathetic failure of heiress she once was, suffice it is to say she knew the feeling of being lonely.

"No, I am not your mother. But rest assured, I will not harm you. And as I've said, I will not leave you here alone." _For I know what it feels to suffer on my own._

The light from the lavender-scented candles were the only once that provided illumination. Her perfect vision could see his gaze intently directed to her. It was not condescending, nor judgmental. Just curious.

"Is there something wrong…. Gaara?" She of course wished she could supply the proper suffix by calling him Gaara-sama, or Gaara-kun. But being formal with him would only drift him away.

"Are you not scared of me? ... Scared to touch me?" He reluctantly touched her forehead, but she did not flinch. He continued touching it, moving her bangs away to reveal skin. She realized later on that he was lightly tracing her skin that had third degree burns.

"No, I'm not."

Tanuki eyes directed their gaze to her doe-shaped ones. "But I am a monster. Even without the Shukaku, I am still being haunted. I have my own demons." He continued to trace her forehead with his index finger.

Hinata gulped and licked her lips. The things that are about to come out from her mouth, they're not only for Gaara's sanity – they're also for hers. "Last time I checked, you don't have to be a jinchuuriki to have demons."

His movements suddenly stopped. They are still in a side lying position, their heads comfortably nestled on their respective pillows. Gaara took away his hand from her forehead. They are still both under the blanket, though they aren't hugging anymore. He placed his hands at his sides and looked back at the curious kunoichi. This woman had openly admitted to not being scared of touching him. Cared for him and refused to leave him – arguably this is the most interesting bedroom conversation in his life. Yet. Was this what Kankuro called pillow talk?

"Can you name some?"

She paused, but decided to continue. "Can you keep a secret? Only the Hokage and my teammates know about the whole story." He only nodded. She put her hand on the space between them.

"Six months ago, Tenzou, Kakashi and I were ordered by Tsunade-sama to a mission in Bird Country. We were ordered to kill groups of mercenaries scattered around the country, because they were terrorizing and assaulting the villagers. We accomplished the mission for 15 days, but the stress has taken its toll once we accomplished it. The night they were to return to Konoha and I was to return to Suna, the three of us unfortunately had a meltdown." She sighed.

"Tenzou was a genius who graduated from the Academy at age 6 and became chuunin at the same age. He was the only living survivor of Orochimaru's experiments, and was infused with the Shodai Hokage-sama's DNA. He's the only living person who has the ability to perform Mokuton techniques. He entered ANBU at a young age, and had seen more deaths than me and Kakashi combined."

"Hatake Kakashi, the famous Copy-nin, was the more famous genius. Youngest shinobi to graduate from the Academy at age 5, promoted to chuunin at 6. He's plagued by nightmares of his father's suicide and deaths of comrades during the Third Shinobi War. He failed to guard his bestfriend, protect his bestfriend's love interest, and his sensei."

"And there's always me. I have my nightmares and demons too. Voices from people who have continuously called me unfit and pathetic. Memories about… things that I don't want to remember. I… I always try to suppress them, but when my defenses are down – I am irrational."

She was shocked, for the nth time, when Gaara held her hand with his own.

"What did the voices tell you?" There goes that bluntness again. But his voice was softer, empathizing.

"They… they tell me that I'm pathetic… and that I'm infertile… because I don't deserve to have children." She was gasping air now, she felt claustrophobic. She closed her eyes, there will be no use if she will also panic now, she's the medic here and Gaara's the patient, not the other way around.

"Anyway, back to the story. We were sleeping then when unfortunately two things happened. A wounded Kakashi had a nightmare and decided to go out of the house Tenzou made in the forest, and unknown to him I was sleepwalking outside. Things would have been better if only one of us was experiencing our problems. But no, things have to be complicated. When … when Tenzou found us five minutes later, we were on each other's throats trying to kill each other. But it was more like, _I _was trying to kill him, and he was only defending himself and trying not to harm me. I nearly killed a comrade, because I was _too tired _and that's when _they talk_ and verbally attack me. I tried to restrain them, I really did. But they were so adamant at humiliating me and then I had had enough, and unfortunately Kakashi was the first person I saw when I snapped from my sleepwalking and … and I attacked him, Gaara! I attacked him! I almost killed one of my best friends! I almost killed Kakashi!" She was half-shouting, half-straining to remain her voice down. She was hyperventilating now. No paperbags. Her hands are too shaky to cup them and put them around her nose and mouth, she's too edgy to remain still and her hands.

Gaara's large hands came forward and cupped her mouth and nose. "Breathe. Relax. I'm still here. Come on, breathe."

Tears rolled from her eyes, surprised that such a small gesture from a man who had suffered incomprehensible things she could only imagine. Minutes ago she was the medic and he was the one who needed consoling, and now she's the one being consoled. When did the role of medic-patient switched?

She only nodded, and managed to reduce hyperventilating. A few minutes later, only hiccups and sniffs were heard. She slowly retracted his hands from her face and looked at him.

"I'm… I'm sorry… I… You have more problems to deal with, with your personal life and your duties as Kazekage… I shouldn't have imposed and cracked.. I'm sorry.. I'm sorry. I should not have burdened you with my problems, this is all my fault, I should have shouldered them alone – "

At first she was profusely making apologies to the Kazekage and suddenly she was encased in a hug, their legs intertwined, and their limbs found each other's backs for a much needed comfort. She needed something to grasp, and Gaara wasn't wearing a shirt. She opted to grasp his hair, while he decided to rub her back in circles – the same way she did with him awhile ago. She choked on her saliva, her sobs muffled in his chest.

"You don't have anything to apologize. And you certainly don't have to carry your burdens alone. You have someone in your life whom you honor and revere so much that every hurt on them is inflicted on you as well. And the closer they are to you, the greater the pain.** That's what you felt when you realized that you were about to kill Kakashi, I presume. But Kakashi doesn't blame you, does he? You don't have to carry that guilt. And you can stop blaming yourself for the things you lack control thereof. Now that I know of some of your burdens and I am now aware of mine, you don't have to close yourself from others. We may look different but deep inside, we're both the same."

"Remember this, Hinata-chan. People cannot win against their loneliness because loneliness is this world's worst kind of pain***. I am here. Let it go."

That was her cue to let ALL of her guard down, and succumb into a waterfall of tears. She grabbed Gaara's hair and let it all out. The shaking of her shoulders and her muffled gasps chokes and sniffs were indications of her struggle. Gaara continued hugging her.

Her vulnerabilities and his weaknesses – that was their discovery.

A good ten minutes later, her crying had ceased. She looked up to him again and gave him her most honest smile. "Thank you…. Gaara" She hugged him again, and they both felt into the most serene slumber.

_**End of Flashback**_

* * *

"I'm glad too." She smiled at him and slowly stood up. Her summon got out of her lap and flew out into the night sky. She held out both of her hands to him.

"I think it's time to go to bed. For a much needed sleep."

He gave the slightest twitch of his mouth and formed a very small smile. He grabbed both of her hands and easily stood up, careful not to drag her with his weight.

"Yes, I think we do."

The smallest gestures could make the biggest impact. They were both silent people, who preferred to convey their thoughts into actions rather than thoughts.

Holding each other's hand while sleeping was not only for comfort.

It wasn't only for each other's mental stability.

And certainly not only for the reassurance of another person's presence in his bed.

It was for the start of brotherly and sisterly love.

For friendship.

For trust.

For faith.

* * *

A/N

* The names of the summons are named after the four cardinal directions in Japanese... will make sense in future chapters, i promise :)

Kita - North

Minami - South

Higashi - East

Hishi - West

** A quote from Gaara in the manga

*** Another quote from Gaara in the manga. Sorry forgot the manga chapters.

thanks! :D


	14. Chapter 14

A/N

Hello there again!

Thank you for following this fic: pIm-ChAn and Delicatelyplaced

To yeaahDianaa who added this fic to their favorites, thank you so much! :D

KabeHinata-lover2 - hello, there! Thanks for leaving reviews on the fic :D yeah, I love a darker side of hinata, too! Wish it was canon, but nah, she's doing really good now in the manga, and her confidence has obviously increased a notch ever since this war began! :D she's bolder now, and that's really good. Haha.. cheers to hinata!

Veraozao- thank you for always coming back for more :D

sweetgirl929 - thank you! :D glad you liked it. The sister crows are normal in size because they are meant to be messengers. The brothers were meant to for transportation J

Well this next part of my note is meant not only for Aldedron who gave me an amazing review, but I think this is goes out for all of you guys.

Thank you for the review! :D I very much appreciate everyone who took their time and posted what they thought of this fic. I have read some fics and took a peak at their reviews, and I've seen some flames. So far no one has flamed me, I dunno how that's going to feel, though. Haha. It's exciting to know that majority of the reviews I receive are positive ones, and that some are looking forward to it. :D

Sorry for the "Shodaime" mistake, it was a lapse on my part for not researching… I will edit that chapter to change it to "shodai". Thanks for the heads up! :D

Mistakes like the one mentioned above are due to my not so thorough research. Mia culpa. I admit that. The mistakes I have made are rooted to the fact that I am a very lazy person. :D yes I admit to that, too.

Last chapter, I mentioned that I already have an idea of what the next three chapters will be. That is true. But you don't see me uploading three chapters at a time, right? It's not because I have not polished the flow of the story. It's because I don't right outlines on paper, I keep them in my head.

From my brain to my fingertips to MS Word. No betas. Just type and type and when I'm done (in thirty minutes to an hour or more), I open an internet browser, Go to FF, sign in and upload. That's how I operate. Thus the presence of mistakes and typos.

Those are my flaws. Weird, but that works for me. And as reflected in the reviews, I think it works for the readers too.

So I'm really sorry for being lazy and the not so thorough research… I will try to make amends by improving that for future chapters. :D Arigatou, arigatou, arigatou…

/end of rant. Lol

**Warning:** This chapter contains a lemon, and it's not GaaHina. And it's protected by the almighty PNJ (Plot-no-Jutsu) hahaha… I will post a warning when the lemon will start and end. If you don't want to read it, it's okay with me… And oh, it's my first lemon, haha. So I dunno if it will be received well.

If you decide to read it though, please bear in mind that this fic was rated M because of scenarios like this. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.

**_ALSO : there is a Time skip, 3 weeks and 3 days later from last chapter_**

Thanks! :D

Disclaimer : I still don't own Naruto.

* * *

**Chapter 13**

_ Land of Tea_

Everything was going well for 22-year-old Okane Donyoku****, an S-Class missing nin from Kumogakure. He enjoyed hopping from one village to another, travelling through seas and deserts and bodies of water. He had been on a roll ever since he had been on this weird journey, evading his village's ANBU while he searched for other missing criminals for their bounty. Yes, he is both a wanted nin _and_ a bounty hunter. The former - a status and a reminder of his old ninja ways; the latter - the work that puts food in his mouth.

He was not of ANBU caliber from where he came from, but he was stealthy (and lucky) enough to be able to snatch a bingo book from a drunk Kirigakure ANBU two months ago, and another bingo book from a dying Kumogakure ANBU six months prior.

After carefully examining the contents of both books, he was able to deduce two facts.

One, that a bingo book from Kirigakure contains a different lists of names from that of the bingo book from Kumogakure.

And two, that a village's bingo book does not only contain the village's missing nin, but it also is a book that housed a list of bad-ass ninjas from _other_ villages who might become a possible threat.

In short, the bingo book isn't just for criminals. It's a book of shinobis who might be able to tank you with one blow and kick your sorry ass into smithereens.

He had been on a killing streak ever since he put two and two together, and he could say that he is damn wealthy with his new found business. He stalked his targets, killed them when they least expect it, and happily dragged their bodies to the assorted bounty stations scattered all over the five great villages.

But all work and no play makes Okane Donyoku a dull boy. Armed with a bagload of millions of ryous*, he decided to come to this village for some time to unwind. Tourists flocked to this village for their teas, the amazing sceneries, the well preserved tradition and the hospitality the people offered. Land of Tea was a subtle beauty on its own, perfect for escaping the hectic hustle and bustle of daily life.

He had been in this land for five days now, and he had been thoroughly enjoying his experience. Walking around shops, sightseeing, buying stuffs with his money, dining outside, getting drunk, bedding random women. Everything was going great, and the best part is that he can spend his money any way he liked.

But now, on his sixth day, he was getting bored. Things were getting repetitive, monotonous, and _boring_ His body yearned to do what he does for a living – killing and collecting bounties.

Kami-sama must have been reading his mind, because he saw a flash of silver hair while he was walking down the souvenir shops in the Land of Tea.

What's fascinating about both the Kirigakure and the Kumogakure bingo books was that it contained a few names that appeared in both books, mostly from Konoha. He had fortunately memorized two names from the list:

Sarutobi Asuma – 35,000,000 ryou**

And

Hatake Kakashi – 75,000,000 ryou***

Hatake Kakashi had silver hair and always wore a mask.

What Kakashi did to ensure such a large sum of bounty, he did not know. But he sure wanted to have the legendary Copy Cat Ninja's face crossed out in his bounty books, and of course the bragging rights for killing one of Konoha's priced shinobis. The idea of exchanging Kakashi's body into money in a hidden bounty station guised as a bathroom gave him a sudden surge of excitement. Yes, he will stalk the man. He'll be on a prowl, for he had found a new target.

He decided to tail him, and pretended to visit the tea shop across the souvenir shop where Kakashi was standing. Much to his surprise, the masked Jounin wasn't alone.

A slender female about 5 ft. 2 inches in height came out of the souvenir shop. Kakashi turned and placed his left hand on the back of the female, while they walked towards the area where most inns and hotels where located. What is he doing here and why is the female with him?

He studied the Jounin's female companion. Pretty face whose eyes were covered in a mask. A very nice and straight hair that reached to her lower back. Petite frame with a rather bountiful rack. Slim waist, perfect hips, nice calves and feet. He scanned her again for a better look and when something glistened in Kakashi's left hand he stopped. He looked at the woman's fingers, and then it all clicked.

Hatake Kakashi's _married_ to the pretty brunette. To a very, very attractive brunette whose curves clung in the right places.

How could he have missed this? Last time he checked the man was single. And to be able to marry someone so attractive and so young who emanated that fresh and virginal aura that rarely graced women nowadays, Hatake Kakashi must be one hell of a guy both in the battlefield and in the confines of her bedroom. _That lucky cradle-snatcher!_

He continued to stalk the couple, making sure to keep a good distance away from them. He was wearing a black hakama, while she wore a sexy silver kimono. They were both walking very close, talking on hushed voices, laughing on something he said. The Jounin himself proved Okane's theory when he leaned down and kissed her lips through his mask. The blushing woman slightly slapped his shoulder, and giggled at this obvious public display of affection, as they continued to treck down towards their hotel.

It was obvious. Plain and simple. Hatake Kakashi has tied the knot and is currently in the Land of Tea for the honeymoon.

_This just gets more exciting. _He was getting cockier at the moment. He followed the couple to the hotel, and when they were gone, he approached the receptionist. "I want to book a honeymoon suite for me and my wife, unfortunately she's still on the market buying her necessities, so she'll come around once she finished her shopping." He gave the brown-haired male receptionist the amount of money needed. Another brown-haired male attendant approached him and lead him to his way to the honeymoon suite.

He caught a glimpse of Kakashi and his wife talking while they closed their room. It seemed like they just went back to their room to get something, because they are heading outside again. Feeling confident, he even dared to make eye contact to Kakashi's lovely wife while he was headed to his suite and they were exiting theirs. She gave him a warm smile that could melt the snow in the Land of Iron. _God, that gorgeous smile_. Okane directed his attention back to the attendant. Fortunately enough, he was given the room beside theirs.

He examined the suite, looking for an area where he can start his modus operandi: he bore a hole on his room and wait at night to spy on his target. It sounded voyeur, but the thrill of peeking through a well concealed hole, examining your target from that standpoint with him not having any idea of what he was doing made it exciting. It was his preferred method of gaining information. Simple, yet quite effective.

The woman did not seem like a shinobi and behaved like a civilian, so he need not worry on her and focus his attention to the legendary Copy nin. He will spy on them tonight, observe if he has any weaknesses and flaws. He could also silently watch his alluring wife, which even increased the excitement of his spying.

He waited and waited, and when 8PM came, he heard two voices laughing loudly inside Kakashi's room. He waited 15 minutes for them to become quiet, and he slowly made his way into his wall, and peaked through the well concealed wall he made through it. At first he saw a red flash of light, but when he blinked again, he could see a well-lit room with a magnificent bed on the center. Kakashi and his wife were lying on the bed, both silent. His pupils dilated as he anticipated their next move.

* * *

**WARNING : START OF NON-GAAHINA LEMON**

* * *

They were lying in bed, her only dressed in her black nightgown, bra and panties; him clothed in his black boxers. Both were quiet, seemingly dazed.

"Hmmm," the female started to hum; she slowly massaged her midnight blue hair, relaxing her scalp using her dainty fingers. This somehow caught the attention of her male companion, eyes half lidded and focused on the humming woman. The woman was closing her eyes, a satisfied smile plastered on her flushed face. The male reached out his right hand to the woman's cheek, and started making slow circular motions using his knuckles. The female cupped his hand, and started to nuzzle on the man's large hands.

A few minutes later, they were side lying and facing each other. Both his hands are now on her face, while hers were on his messy hair. Inch by inch, their faces started to come closer, their breaths reaching each other's cheek. Both were subconsciously waiting for the other to make the first move, and after a few cruel minutes, the man oh so slowly locked his lips with hers.

The kiss was featherlike and quick. The dazed woman could still feel the heat of the man's lips on hers. They both looked at each other, while the man rubbed his thumb at the back of the woman's ear. This earned a moan from the woman, which excited both parties. He continued rubbing his thumb on the back of her ear, while her parted lips breathed warm air on his pulse point. It was agonizing. Thrilling. Heart pounding. And at long last, the male enclosed his lips over hers again which she gladly accepted.

He rolled on top of her, careful not to crush her small frame.

Her upper lips were sucked by the man, while his hands wandered on her neck, her shoulders and back again. The woman's hand was busy tousling his silver hair, grasping his marvelous strands that seemed to defy gravity. He slowly ended their liplock and made butterfly kisses on her forehead, her eyelids, her nose, cheeks, and back to her lips. She greatly appreciated his affections, and hungrily clasped her lips to his. Tongues were began to duel, saliva was exchanged, moans and small pants and groans filled the room because of the heated kisses.

She let go of his lips to catch her breath, so he continued to peck her chin and her neck. He slowly raised her nightgown to which she happily obliged. Now only in her black lace bra and panties, the man straddled her hips, and scanned with his unmatched eyes the beauty lying beneath him.

"Your beautiful, Hinata," his velvety voice brought shivers down her spine, which did not go unnoticed by her partner. He went back and kissed her, more fervently than their last lip lock. His hands traveled to the underside of her breasts while she clung her hands to his broad back. She traced the scars that mapped his back, and pushed her breasts into his chest. The man groaned.

" Oh Kami, Kakashi," her voice was laced with passion and she arched her back again, giving Kakashi the chance to unhook her bra. He slowly detached the garment away from her and threw it out on the floor.

"Your nipples are aroused, hon… Perfect for sucking," he whispered to her ear, to which she nodded in approval. He kissed her pulse point on her neck, his tongue darting in and out of his mouth. He caressed her flat stomach while his mouth traveled to her cleavage.

"Shit, they're fucking perfect," he murmured before he finally latched unto a highly aroused pink nipple. Hinata let out a cry from the sensation brought about by the alternating sucking and licking motions of Kakashi's tongue. His hand was caressing the other orb, while he lapped at her left breast. She grabbed his head and pushed her breast to his face. He kissed the underside of her breast and sucked it again, to which she cried sensually. He started licking his way to her other breast.

"Look at me," She opened her eyes and met his. He breathed warm air into her nipple, which only brought the already perked bud harder. He slowly nipped her areola before he sucked the bud, all the while not leaving his gaze away from him. His tongue made circles which brought a flame of desire to her groin. The intoxicating feeling coupled with the lustful gaze of Kakashi only increased her moans.

He made loud groans as he trailed kisses and bites toward her stomach, his hands busy stroking her pelvic bone and her silky legs. He kissed her belly button before he sat on the bed, holding her ankles upward.

He sensually licked each of her ankles and slowly made his mouth and hands to the pulse under her knees. Hinata's head rolled on her pillow as Kakashi's expert tongue approached her legs, all the way to her inner thighs. Beads of sweat glistened, her nether lips moistened by the ministrations of her partner.

"Fuck, you look so good," he pressed his nose to her arousal through her soaked panties. He slowly peeled the panties off her using his teeth. His hands quickly discarded his boxers. When Hinata saw the size of Kakashi's shaft, she audibly gasped, afraid that it might not fit. He seemed to read her mind, and slowly crawled back and enclosed her in an embrace.

"Don't worry, I'll be gentle," he kissed her lips once more and dragged himself to her soaked entrance. Hinata's parted thighs reflexively widened to allow the Copy Nin more room to explore. He placed one hand along her pelvic bone to steady her, while his fingers slowly stroked the area beside her labia. She closed her eyes and waited for the assault of ecstasy Kakashi was going to provide her.

He traced her outer lips with his tongue, while his breath caressed her engorged clit. Hinata's pelvis buckled and she made the most exotic cries and made Kakashi's erect member twitch in excitement. He tickled her clit with his tongue, and one of her hands dug into his hair again, pressing his face deeper. He accepted the challenge and slowly spelled the Kanji of his name on her clit, earning waves and waves of pleasurable sounds from the woman.

He raised his head and grabbed her hands. "Grab your breasts, Hinata…. Roll your nipples…. Play with them while I lap on your juices". She hurriedly obliged, and groped on her breasts. Her thumbs and index fingers rolled her pert buds, her eyes closed and her mouth agape from the bliss brought about by the oral sex.

"You have the best fuck face I have ever seen". He slowly inserted his middle finger on her vagina, to which her muscles instantly reacted and enclosed it like velvet glove. She let out a cry for his intrusion, but soon forgot the pain when Kakashi began to stimulate her clit with his tongue again, and his fingers made slow in-and-out motions on her wet cavern.

He introduced another finger to her wet entrance, and licked her engorged clit faster. He pumped his fingers, stretched her insides and readied her muscles for the impending intrusion of his penis. Her legs instantly latched on his head, her pelvis reflexively grinded itself on Kakashi's awaiting mouth. He increased his pace, and inserted another finger. Hinata could only scream.

"Kak- Kakashi, I'm cumming!" She arched her back, panting; her eyes rolled at the back of her head, while Kakashi continued lapping every dripping cum that came out of Hinata. She girated her hips and rode out her orgasm, her toes curled while her knees shivered with excitement.

When Kakashi surfaced from the amazing oral sex, he went back to her mouth and torridly kissed her. Tongues lashed, teeth nipped on bruised lips; his and her saliva made slurping sounds, and they both swallowed each others groans. She could taste herself from his mouth, arousing them both.

They were gasping when they finally separated for air, their nipples touching each others chest. Kakashi again embraced Hinata, and softly bit her earlobe.

"Are you ready?" he stroked her cheek and she nodded. "Don't worry, you can always bite me". He kissed her once again before he wrapped her legs around his waist, her ankles anchored to his lower back. He grabbed his member and positioned himself along her entrance.

Slowly, very,very slowly, he inserted himself into her wet and waiting cavern, and inch by slow inch introduced to her the ecstasy of being one with the opposite sex. He reached her maidenhood and plunged himself deeper.

Hinata bit Kakashi's shoulder, making the man wince. "Relax, breathe through your mouth. Come on, hon," he showered her with chaste kisses on her face, and playfully tugged her lower lip. He dried her tears with his thumb and pecked her blushing cheeks. Hinata happily accepted his affection, and slowly relaxed into the man's embrace.

"Y-you can move now, Kakashi". He looked at her and she nodded, he started moving his pelvis and her hands automatically grabbed his shoulders for leverage.

"Good…Lord, Hinata… you're so tight! F-Fuck!" he continued pushing himself into her, each thrust going deeper and deeper into her warmth, touching her cervix, her muscles clasping his member as if her life depended on it. He pushed in and out, in and out, Hinata's pelvis following his rhythm and meeting his thrusts with equal need. The slapping of naked skin glistened with layers of sweat from both shinobis echoed throughout the room, their cries riveted through the walls, the squeaking of the hotel room bed synchronized with their coupling.

Her muscles tightened again, and he could feel the next wave of orgasm from her small frame. She was disheveled now, lost in the sea of pleasure and the smell of sex. Being the more experienced one between the two of them, he increased his thrusts and when her legs started to tremble again, he pulled out his shaft and stroked her clit with his thumb in rapid succession, just in time for Hinata to experience her second mind-blowing orgasm. Groans both of pleasure and exasperation came out from her lovely throat, as she tried to understand why Kakashi suddenly pulled back.

He flipped her and lied on his back. Now Hinata was straddling him, still soft from her last orgasm. He caressed her breasts and nipples, her chest heaving from lack of oxygen and arousal, her moans felt like music to his ears. He positioned his member on her entrance again, while she steadied herself by putting her hands on his chest. She lightly brushed his nipples, which earned a strained mewl from the man.

"Ride me."

"A-as you wish, K-Kakashi."

God, does she have to sound so innocent and enticing? It only increased the ache on his member, the smell of Hinata's juices filled his oversensitive sense of smell.

"Kneel and lower yourself unto my dick." She blushed at the lewd mention of his member, the blush traveling from her cheeks to her heaving D-cupped breasts, her hair stuck to her skin making her even more erotic and ethereal.

She nodded and kneeled. She cupped his twitching shaft, the difference of her small hands to his large penis even more prominent from his view. He groaned as she slowly inserted his thick aching rod to her tight orifice, precum glistening and aiding her pussy's natural lube. He gritted his teeth while she lowered herself and he audible cried when he hit her cervix. He reached out his hands to hers to steady herself, while she adjusted again to the size of his member. It was taking all of his control to start pumping her.

And then Hinata suddenly hooked her feet over the inside of his legs close to his knees. She grabbed the sheets on either side of his head, giving Kakashi an amazing view of her delightful rack. She squeezed her ass and tilted her pelvis upward, making his pubic bone rub with her clit.

"OH, FUCK ME!" He could not help himself from yelling, Kami-sama knows how different this position was from what he used to. His member was bent and stretched to a different position from what he used to. Add to the fact that her vagina was internally throbbing, the clasping-unclasping action of her muscles worked wonders on his dick.

"A-Ah… A-are you okay?" He was trying to catch his breath and his voice unfortunately choked. "The fuck did you just do, hon?"

She smiled knowingly, licked his nipple, and tugged it. "Secret clan technique." _Damn those Hyuugas!_

She squeezed her ass again, and continued to tilt her pelvis upward. Up. Down. Up. Down. Fuck her and her up and down movement! Oh, sweet motherfucking Christ! This woman is testing his limit! Instead of increasing the speed, she contentedly kept the same pace, which frustrated the older shinobi. His muscles were screaming for him to increase the pace, but Hinata's swaying breasts captivated his gaze. If she's going to keep this pace, he would cum first before him!

She unwrapped her legs from his lower extremities and pulled herself from him. A few seconds later, she inserted herself into him again, stretched her legs until she reached into the split position.

_Goddamnit, she's that flexible!_ _Fuck, fuck, fuck all Hyuugas!_ The sudden shifts in positions rubbed his dick in the most pleasurable ways, and he hurriedly placed his hands on her thighs. He furiously began to pump into her like a piston as she kept her balance on top of him. She screamed to increase the pace, and he happily crashed his pelvis into the animalistic libidinous body of his partner. His dick was at his limit, never had he seen a woman bend and fold and spread her body like the woman who was currently riding him. Her breasts bounced and hit each other; her swollen clit still rubbed his pelvic bone. They had succumbed to the heights of hot white pleasure that invaded their lust-filled senses, and they saw stars by the intensity of their coupling. Their lips whined and called each other's name in a sing-song of curses and praises when they both simultaneously came.

The flaccid body of the woman crashed horribly into his chest, his cock still soaked in her twitching and dripping honey pot.

When he finally recovered from the mind-boggling sex, he gently wrapped his arms around her sleeping figure, and covered their forms with a blanket. He relaxed himself and slept.

All the while not pulling out his thick appendage from her glorious crack of heaven.

* * *

**END OF NON-GAAHINA LEMON**

* * *

The moment he saw Kakashi started to lick his woman, Okane silently unzipped his pants and grabbed his erection while spying on the newlyweds.

The Hatake couple just had the most erotic sex. Okane was on his back now, his hand aching on his member as his body trembled with the aftermaths of his own orgasm. He had been fapping while peeping through the wall. He also had the most wonderful climax when Kakashi and his wife came.

_That was one sick spying session.… I've never seen anything like that… It's official…. Hatake Kakashi and his smoldering hot wife are sex gods in the flesh._

He placed his forearm above his hand while he tried to catch his breath. When he finally relaxed he stood up.

The face of the male attendant greeted him. The male attendant gave him a lecherous smile.

"Game's over, dickwad!"

Three seconds later, Okame's head rolled on the floor of his honeymoon suite.

The male attendant grabbed a sack from one of the drawers and inserted Okame's head into it. He went outside and slammed the door open, letting himself inside the room next to Okame's.

"Hatake fucking Kakashi, you really are a genius!"

Kakashi's masked face turned to the man. He raised his hand to the male attendant to greet him.

"Yo!"

* * *

A/N

* Official Naruto series currency, where one ryou = 10 yen.

** Asuma's bounty is canon

*** Kakashi was included in Zabuza's bingo book. Zabuza was from Kirigakure. The amount is fictional, I just made that up.

**** okane = money ; donyoku = greed …. Because I got tired of thinking of names . :D?

And that my friends is how I introduce Hatake Kakashi :D

I think I'm going to have carpal tunnel syndrome after typing this very lengthy chapter. :D

Your thoughts for this chapter?


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 13**

"So you mean that genjutsu you cast over that guy was when the time you took Hinata-chan's V-card two years ago?"

They were sitting on the kitchen table across each other. Kankuro cleaning his puppet Crow's wrist knives, while he was still engrossed in his book. This was the first time Kakashi saw the puppet master ever since they rescued the Kazekage from the Akatsuki. He had thought that ultimately, the elder son of the Suna siblings would use his puppets' arsenal, but he never expected that the kill would be so – brutal. One blade is enough, but Kankuro who goes by the ANBU name Wolf preferred to have his murders to the point of being feral and savage. _No wonder his brother gave him that name_. _But then again, to each his own._

"Yes. Ever since I passed out from my last mission, Hinata always keeps reminding me that I should not use genjutsu so as not to strain my eyes." He pointed his index finger to his covered Sharingan. "But tonight is an exception, since we're all in a hurry because of Suna's festival. As the captain in this mission, I ordered her to just go with my plan."

Aside from the upcoming festival, he still had to explain to the Suna shinobi the complexities of his relationship with his female teammate. He expected Kankuro to ask him right off the bat about that, but the guy actually waited for the mission to finish before asking anything. He just followed his orders, like every soldier is expected to be. He concurred that Kankuro is grossly underestimated, and his respect for him grew for following orders without so much as a question. "But… I thought she wasn't allowed to have relationships?"

He closed his Icha Icha book and faced him. "There never was a we, and we never had that kind of relationship. The boyfriend-girlfriend type? Nada. Never was, Never will. See… this may sound impossible to you, but I would never be like that to Hinata if it was not part of the mission. And I would never touch her if it wasn't ordered. That was just one time and we both got over it."

"Then why did you sleep with her?"

"Because three days after that, she would take Konoha's ANBU Exam. And it is required that ALL ANBUs must not be virgins. The risk of being raped, whether you're male or female, is too high. There's even a physical exam for women to ensure that everyone's a non-virgin."

Kankuro clapped his hands and cackled like a mad man. "Now I get it what Temari meant. You were that big fish Hinata-chan caught!"

Big fish? He could feel his cheeks darken as they twitch. "Yes, I'm the only guy she has been with – from the first kiss to the first sex, I'm practically littered with Hinata's first times. I don't want to know what those girls were talking about me and why my name came up all of a sudden, but I guess I should take that as a compliment."

His new teammate continued to laugh. "Yeah, coming from Temari, take it as a compliment, bro." He fixed his hands on the back of his head and remained silent. "Okay, now I'm kinda getting what you're at… But… don't take this the wrong way, man, I like you, no homo. And no offense, but then why in God's name would it have to be you?"

Kakashi laughed. "I'll leave that to Tenzou, he seems to enjoy that story." He had always been the observant silent guy, who rarely spoke his thoughts unless necessary. "But I'll say this once again. I'd only sleep again with Hinata if the two of us were the last living people in this world. And that's a big IF. It's not that she's not attractive and ugly, she really is a beautiful person, but I wouldn't want to deal again with guilt of having slept with a woman you consider as your sister, let alone someone half your age." He sighed. "Sleeping with Hinata, I admit, was the best sex I ever had, but believe me, I'd never do that again… Since Tenzou is the default cleaner man and he's a chicken when in front of girls, she and I can get into compromising situations. We do make out for the sake of the mission, even go second base, but outside of missions, I would not touch her like that even with a twenty-foot pole."

"So it's all for the sake of the mission." Kakashi nodded and remained silent.

"So it really wasn't a rumor. You really are one of the greatest strategists, aren't you?"

He smiled underneath his mask. " Thank you. But I really don't want her to follow Anko's methods: Seduction, Sex , Slice and Kill. That woman has no inhibitions, and her job now fits her personality perfectly. Hers is the direct approach, but I'd rather have the indirect one."

He grabbed a book that was placed on the bed and eyed its title. _Soups for all Occasions_. Obviously Hinata's. He flipped through the old book and came to stop at a specific page. He went back to the kitchen and propped himself to a chair, all the while not leaving both of his eyes from the book. "It's just like what you do when you hunt. Study the enemy and the terrain. Strategize. Place the bait. Catch his attention and then go for the kill. I've already taught Hinata on the basics of strategies, and she's grasped them pretty well…. And ever since I've studied her, trained with her, I soon found out that she's a covert sadist and closet exhibitionist."

Kankuro snorted. He was obviously shocked. "Haha, A covert sadist and a closet exhibitionist? I don't think I'd ever get to see the day that those words would be associated with Hinata-chan."

His throat hummed while he released an amused 'hn'. "Oooh, trust me she is. There's always more to it than meets the eye. How do you think we were able to manage 100% accomplishment rate on these kinds of missions?" He raised his right eyebrow for emphasis. "She's _that_ good at baiting these criminals, without even trying to have oral sex or hitting the jackpot with them. The only thing that matters is if she can successfully place a hit on their desires, and bam, she has them in the clasp of her fingers before they are even aware that she was a bait."

"You mean she's that good at foreplay or doing a good show that she doesn't even need to do a blowjob?" Kankuro's voice rose up incredulously, and Kakashi only nodded. "She doesn't need to, because you'll be holding your dick and jacking yourself by the time you've seen her assets."

"Ha! Hinata-chan, a Mistress of Manipulation on duty, shy-homely kunoichi off duty. That's fuckin' fantastic!" He was obviously overwhelmed. "So what's her secret?" He lowered his voice down, as if asking Kakashi to share him a secret.

"Men are pretty simple, Kankuro, and I'm pretty sure you know that." Kankuro nodded eagerly, and Kakashi decided to put down the book. "I'm going to tell you this, Kankuro, because I want you to understand my methods, which ultimately became the pillar of this team. But this will remain a secret, do you understand?" The younger shinobi eagerly bobbed his head up and down.

"The principles of our approach are these:

"One. Men are competitive beasts by nature. When they see something good, they'll want it; but when they see something good and they see someone else want it or have it, then _that_ changes the game plan. They'll be even more pumped up into getting what they want_. _Envy is a great motivator, Kankuro, and envy plus testosterone is a lethal combination… _Because all men enjoy competition, and all men want what they can't have._"

"Two. _Men think with their penises_. I don't want to elaborate that, nuff said."

Three. _A man's greatest weakness is what makes his dick strong_. Logic simply doesn't apply when lust slaps you in the face. It just goes out of the window the moment men see a pair of nice jugs and a vagina. This goes with the second one I mentioned, but then unconsciously, men would always want to prolong the euphoria of lust as much as possible. Because we're beasts, and beasts are power-hungry motherfuckers."

"Four. _Experimentation works wonders and adds to the thrill_. Admit it, plain sex is boring. And plain assasination is boring too, by ANBU standards anyway. Men crave for variety. But voyeurism, exhibitionism, seeing Hatake Kakashi get a good lap dance from _that_ kunoichi or simply watching me and Hinata washing each other in a bath? Who would want to miss a show of two people making out naked under the shower? Or her dry humping my groin screaming my name? Or her walking upside down while she clasps and unclasps her legs during training?"

"Porn is a good stimulant, Kankuro, but it could be used a double-edged sword and become someones' weakness. A criminal who witnesses two people making out intensely, seeing two shinobis doing something that is a precursor to soft-porn-with-the-unresolved-sexual-tension-theme? That'll get any man hot and bothered. And bothered is what we are aiming for. Because that's when they let their guard down so Tenzou can do his job as a cleaner. The variation of the techniques used from mission to mission, that I leave to Hinata's imagination."

And he explained to Kankuro about what happened on the ANBU Entrance exam with Tenzou, Genma and Raidou.

"What would Anko have done? Anko would have accepted the guy's hand and have sex with him in the room and then go for the kill. But Hinata is not like that, I don't want her to have sex with her targets and become a whore. And I want it to remain like that, no matter what."

Kakashi grabbed the glass of water on the table and chugged all of the water. He placed his index finger on the rim of the glass, and traced circles.

"The best thing about it is that he gave in and begged. He _begged_, Kankuro, and he even kissed her foot. How many proud men will do that? How many S-rank criminals would stoop to that level just to get what they want? That's how good she is. Manipulation and strategic thinking at it's finest. That's when you know that she's bagged the kill. She manipulated him into her game and a few minutes later, she had killed the man, all the while not making herself sleep with the enemy and accomplish her mission."

"The purpose of that FUCK section was mostly on espionage, sleeping with the enemy, get information or do the kill. Anko is the living proof that _that_ section is effective, and she's effective in her own direct ways. But I think that what makes Hinata stronger than Anko. What makes her a level above her sensei, is that she can seduce any criminal - manipulate them, bend them to her whims, command them with her ministrations, kill them with ease – and still able to keep her panties on when all is said and done."

He allowed the young man to absorb everything he had revealed. He had placed his cards for Kankuro to see, and it will be up to him to decide whether his strategies work or not. "Hinata-chan's one sick woman…One sick, powerful badass woman."

"Indeed." He put on his serious face again. "Now, your turn. Analyze what we did, and let me see if you've got the basics covered.:

Kankuro greedily accepted the challenge and jovially spoke out. "That guy I just got killed? He's one of the easiest targets. A breeze compared to Hinata-chan's previous missions. The four of us studied him for only a day, and his personality was one of the easiest to decipher. Likes to collect bounty for people in the Bingo Book, likes to play around, modus operandi is spying his targets by making holes on their rooms. But the most important factor for the accomplishment of this mission are the baits: Hinata-chan and you. Based on our information by silent trailing him, he likes virginal women, to which Hinata-chan can easily slip into. And you of course, because he's obsessed with Bingo Books and you would've made a good piece of addition to his growing bounty list. Yamato got the easy role; he was the receptionist while I was the attendant. So you planted yourselves in front of him, even to the point where you had to pretend you were married and wear the rings and do PDA and stuff." He snickered "And man, by the way, you look good together, so props for that." Kakashi's eye twitched again by that last comment, so Kankuro opted to continue.

"So you baited him and when he was on the hook, you awarded him with something easy, but equally stimulating as well. A genjutsu of that night you had two years ago when you popped Hinata-chan's cherry. And when he finished jacking off from that supposed "live show" you put him through, he lowered his defenses and that's when I attacked."

"Study. Strategize. Lure and Bait. And when he's hooked and defenseless, go for the kill." He ended his monologue with a cheeky grin.

Satisfied, Kakashi's eyes crinkled into his usual smile."You catch up pretty fast."

Kankuro's grin widened. "I learn from the best." He shifted in his seat, and Kakashi prepared himself for another question. "I still have one question. Aside from the obvious reason of being friends with Hinata-chan, why do you do this? Why go to such extent?"

His face turned solemn as he answered. "Because the moment that damn cursed seal is gone and she can come back to Konoha and face her father, I want her to have as much dignity as every other ANBU member out there. You've seen her father right? Nothing gets past through that man, that Insight and skill in reading people had made those Hyuugas formidable. I don't want her to lie through her teeth. I want her head held high once her father asks what she was doing for the past years. I want her proud that she's an ANBU and killed for her village, and that Konoha and two of her teammates have not forsaken her. If there comes a time when she will become involved in a romantic relationship, I want her to be happy, to experience making love as what it was really meant to feel. I want her to enjoy being young and act normal, spend time with her boyfriend like every other young girls her age. To experience how it is to love and be loved in return. Having sex with multiple partners would only scar her and that will only kill her over time, gradually lessening her already beaten-up self esteem …If her father ever asks who she slept with, at least she can honestly say that she slept with me and nobody else. That will be trouble for me, but I can take the old man anytime."

Kankuro was amazed at the depth of Kakashi's personality. Who would have thought that the Copy-nin was that thoughtful? Kakashi's the type who doesn't boast his accomplishments, who'd rather let his action speak for themselves. But this one is a definite rare occasion. He actually verbalized that he could actually solo Hinata's old man.

"I never expected you would have thought about it that far. Sounds legit. You really are a genius, Hatake fucking Kakashi."

Kakashi only smiled.

Kankuro relaxed, but the sound of his angry stomach made him frown. "By the way, what has taken Yamato and Hinata-chan so long? I thought they were just out to buy dinner and some souvenirs."

He received a shrug from the Copy nin. "Hmm, sightseeing perhaps? Tenzou is interested in architecture so they may be looking at some old buildings. And maybe Hinata was out on a prowl for her sugar cravings."

Just then the door, for the second time that evening, slammed open and both Tenzou and Hinata came in and rolled into the room's carpeted floor. Wrinkled clothes, messy footwears, dirty fingers covered with what he thought was mud. This was not the sight Kankuro saw when they left to shop for groceries. A giggling Hinata and a surprisingly too happy Tenzou rolled on the floor, both arms wrapped around each other's shoulders.

"What the fuck happened to you two?"

* * *

A/N

thanks for the follows : r1ncewind1 , genotype, evil-x-love, beamandaa

thank you for adding me to your favorites : .kupcake , evil-x-love, beamandaa

For the reviews :

sailorangelmoon1 - thanks :D it was my first lemon, i'm glad you liked it ! :D

firegoat - hello there, welcome back :D does this plot seem familiar? i hope it isn't, because i hate to think that i unconsciously ripped off someone else's idea :D? haha. i think this chapter properly introduced the silver-haired jounin properly, imo :D

Veraozao - thanks :D!

Hello, everyone :)

i'm really sorry for the late update. My life has been very busy, since i had to deal with two successive operations done to my uncle, and going in and out of the hospital, staying up late and being there for your family has taken its toll to my urge to write and have a proper mindset over my fic. My uncle isn't out of the hospital yet, i still do come and go to the hospital to help.

But here i am and uploaded a new chapter, and forgive me if you may find this lackluster and unentertaining. My views, likes and reviews have dwindled down, so i understand if you might find this fic getting boring after every chapter. I'm in my own hellhole right now, and this life experience may have successfully stomped and killed this chapter, i really don't know, i'm too confused.*facepalms* ... Reviews, constructive criticisms, rants will always be welcome, though.

i know i'll be writing the next chapter, but i think i need to get a proper mindset before putting my plans into words :D

Reviews? thoughts? feel free to comment :) :) :)

Now i think i should go and take that much needed sleep. *crawls under blanket and drifts off*


	16. Chapter 16

A/N

Helloooo!

Finally, my uncle has been discharged! All's well and happy again! \:D/

Thank you for waiting, I just thought this chapter should come out before i lose all these ideas. When the mood is right, write. before the train of thoughts disappear.

Thank you guys for following and adding this to their favorites: _**angiepenguin16 , SurrenderingXDemonicXAngel, koodori-mayonaka-hana, cestrada807**_

for the reviews:

**genotype** - thank you , that really means i lot :D i have a general idea of what i think will happen, but still shady :D i think it's OOC for this chapter, but i'm hoping it'll work out :D

**SurrenderingXDemonicXAngel** - really? :D? thanks. you laughed so hard, but then a guest reviewed that my story sucked bigtime :| :D? anyway, i can't please everyone, its his / her opinion, so i'll respect that :) thank you for reading and for your support :D

**nuriiko** - i think this chapter will answer it :D

**Veraozao** - thanks :D

**sailorangelmoon1** - yeah haha. someone's gotta do it, ya know :Dv

**Delicatelyplaced** - thank you, thank you very much :D i like kakashi here as well as canon kakashi, he's one of my favorites. :D

**Guest** - hello :D thank you for leaving a review on my fic, and making an effort to read it. I'm sorry that it wasn't at par with your tastes... Uhm, if i shouldn't put this in the humor category, where should i put it , adventure?

i think lemons are good, whether one shots or part of the story; but i think it's easier for me to create them when there's some background about them. that's my preference anyway :D it's more comfortable for me that way... And, well.. the reviews... they're there so i'm still happy :D  
again, sorry if my humor sucks.

Disclaimer for the chapter before this, and for this one too: still don't own naruto

_words italized_ = thoughts

* * *

"Oji-sama, how much farther are we before we arrive at the tower's rooftop? Can we have a landing in 5 minutes?" His mistress had never revealed his name to his fellow teammates, and he was happy that Cat and Dog respected his need for privacy.

An ugly omnivore he may be, from the tips of his feathers to the tips of his claws, it was a fact that Crows are proud summons and wouldn't take bullshit from anybody.

And the 35-foot tall "Old Man", once considered a god-tier patriarch of the murder of a hundred crows, had just been asked and ordered by his mistress' teammate.

Quite ironic, he internally mused, that the man whose name meant "Scarecrow" is the one leading the greatest of the crow summons to their journey towards the Kazekage Tower, towards his mistress' new home.

What would have Katsuyu, Manda and Gamabunta, his fellow summons, say when they see him right now? That the once high and mighty Old Man was reduced to obey and take orders from someone who wasn't his mistress?

He couldn't give a flying fuck of what that prick Manda had to say. He can crawl his sneaky scaly body to his own hellhole and he wouldn't give a shit to what would happen. It was Manda's master's fault that his mistress had ended up being like this anyway. He swore with his murders' blood that crows and snakes would never cross again without bloodbaths happening.

Katsuyu would have understood, seeing that she's the summon of the greatest medic in the world.

And Gamabunta would laugh at him but would eventually pat his back for the job well done.

Because he had done what is to be expected of each summon. Support their master. Because the life of their master is more important than a summon's pride.

Pats from the silver haired man's hand touched his onyx wings; the man was waiting for his answer, pleading for his voice. Years of being around his mistress' team, he had seen with his eyes the kind of shinobi they all are. Dignified. Loyal. Strong, resilient, and most of all: **calm**. And currently, Hatake Kakashi was NOT calm.

The moment his mistress summoned him, he knew something was wrong. The way her hands fell limp and her body swayed while being perched upon that new recruit they had, he had locked eyes with the Copy Nin and immediately knew something was amiss. If the young Tenzou wasn't acting such a fool with his nonsense jibber-jabber, he might have thought that he was under a genjutsu. _Not that he can't dispell them easily,_ he proudly added.

The old man took a sideways glance at the obviously tired Kakashi. Whatever happened to his mistress and the young Tenzou, Kakashi kept mum about the situation and decided to fly back from Land of Tea to Central Suna towards the Kazekage Tower.

"We will be there in 10 minutes, Kakashi. Don't fret… Whatever has happened with Hinata-sama and the lad, I believe you'll be able to find a solution." He lowered himself below the clouds, his black wings spread widely and they glided in the cold evening air. Night time was his time, because darkness worked for his advantage.

_Hang in there, Hinata-sama. _

* * *

This is going to get messy.

When Hinata and Tenzou came back disheveled and obviously out of character, he knew something was wrong.

An hour and fifteen minutes ago, he just suffered the longest and most painstaking 15 minutes of the weirdest interrogation with his Konoha teammates.

In another time and place, if they weren't on a mission, he would have gladly recorded all these things with his Sharingan and to preserve the memory of his teammates' misfortune, for future reference of course. It would have been included in his "Golden Moments with Tenzou and Hinata" archives. He shook his head and snorted, missions are missions, and the fiasco in that hotel room in the Land of Tea was comical, but it was also not an exception.

He can now imagine the Hokage laughing at the contents of his Land of Tea mission reports.

What happened then?

Hinata and Tenzou were buying dinner when they were approached by a 7-year old girl who was selling chocolate cookies with gooey fudge filling. Hinata, the cookie monster who can't get enough of her sugar addiction, decided to buy everything – 50 pieces of cookies – yes, ALL of them. He learned that they went to the sea wall, and sat there. Everything else went downhill afterwards.

Some may not believe it, but when not on missions, Tenzou and Hinata can be quite competitive, in their own comical ways (just for the laugh of it), and Kakashi would always become the default referee. During their talk at the sea wall, their previous 1 vs. 1 ramen eating contest was brought up, to which Hinata unbelievably won. Stupidity is as stupidity does, both decided to have a Cookie-eating Contest. The contest was decided then and there: whoever can finish the most cookies in 10 minutes wins.

Turns out the cookies were tampered (Kakashi suspected hashish) or some idiotic but effective drug that brought two of Konoha's best ANBU down. He was sure if Hinata wasn't such a sweet tooth and blinded by the enticing dessert, she would have not missed the smell of the drug. Her carnage for sweet things will be the death of them! They came to their hotel room high as fuck, both hands, fingers, and faces dirty with smudges of chocolate and melted fudge, laughing over some jokes both of them shared, tripping on their feet and rolling on the floor.

That was an hour ago, and now they are going back to Suna. He had talked with the Old Man, and hearing that they are nearing the tower, he looked back at his team again. He slapped his forehead. Hard.

Hinata was on a piggyback ride with a standing Kankuro, her arms tied in chakra-restraining cuffs that Kakashi was lucky enough to have. Her feet were crossed around Kankuro's waist, knees tied with thick ropes. Kankuro's chakra-enhanced feet was planted on the summon's back.

Tenzou's situation wasn't good either, because his arms were also bound by chakra-restraining cuffs, but his body was wrapped up in a white blanket and tied up with a rope. All that was visible was his head, and that loud mouth attitude of his when the Mokuton user was drunk. His body was tied with a bigger rope to the bird to prevent himself from falling.

Why were they transported like this?

Reason one: Because Tenzou-on-a-high wouldn't stop hugging a giggling Hinata. And Hinata-on-a-high wouldn't stop from laughing over Yamato's death grip. Kakashi had to summon ALL of his ninken to restrain Tenzou and hold him with his pack's fangs, while Kankuro trapped Hinata with Black Ant to put the handcuffs on her. Hinata started to cry like a child, moaning that she wanted a piggy back ride, so Kankuro reluctantly obliged.

The ANBU mission was complete, but the Rescue-Hinata-and-Tenzou-From-Their-Own-Stupidity-Mission was still ongoing.

Reason two: Because both Hinata and Tenzou decided to become an instant comedic duo. And because these restraints were the only ways she won't harm them. No way are they going to let these psychedelic drug-induced ANBU shinobis amock while they return to Suna. Especially Hinata, when she tried to Jyuuken Kankuro and Kakashi's dicks.

Yes, their dicks. All because a fucked up Tenzou made a stupid comment if Hinata can repeat that accidental Cockblocker-no-Jutsu (aka CnJ) she delivered to a poor soul a year ago (it was supposed to be a Jyuuken to the heart, but then the criminal jumped and Hinata's hands landed on his … well, dick, thus the name).

Kakashi swore that if that man was alive now, his swimmers would have gone straight to Semen Heaven, rendering that guy infertile for eternity; and possibly a dick that looked like a massacred, overcooked, charred and chaffed hotdog oozing with puss. He unconsciously cupped his groin and winced at that thought.

So back to that incident that happened an hour and fifteen minutes ago. This was before the restraints were made, mind you.

A fucked up Tenzou openly suggested that Hinata perform that CnJ to Kakashi and Kankuro. "Because it looked fun, Hinata-chan!", the derped Tenzou said. Sad to say, an even more fucked up Hinata obliged and readied her palms for Jyuuken, all the while laughing at her sloppy stance.

Good thing Kankuro immediately summoned his puppet Crow. When Hinata performed the Cockblocker-no-Jutsu, Crow was blown into smithereens, and Hinata and Tenzou both cheered at their accomplishment, jumping high and low when bits and pieces of wood rained throughout the room.

"I've never seen wood looked like snooooooooow befooooooooore", an amazed Tenzou and a giggling Hinata even had the nerve to laugh and held their hands together, eyes dazed with glee like 12 year olds, as they kept looking up at the ashes of wood that scattered and hovered the air after Hinata's attack.

Kankuro was on the floor with fat, soggy tears, picking up the pieces of what was left of his puppet and his broken heart, while Kakashi was left frozen at the scenario, slack jawed and stoned at his team's behavior. His team – his first-class team of talented Suna and Konoha shinobis – has brought its own downfall, all because of 50 fucking pieces of chocolate cookies and one attempt of the nose-scrunching, pelvis-breaking, ultimate deboning technique called Cockblocker-no-Jutsu from their very own Jyuuken specialist.

They have just landed at the top of the Kazekage tower, where a half-asleep Temari and a stoic Kazekage were waiting in their pajamas. Kakashi had a feeling that things will turn out from bad to worst, because when they landed on top of the tower, Tenzou had to open his big fat mouth.

"Ne, ne, Hinata-chaaaaaan, we should continue taaaalking!"

A giggling Hinata didn't fail the wailing Tenzou. "Fire away, Tenzou!"

Kakashi looked at the Kazekage, and had never seen his face like that – his jaw muscles were stiff, body planted on the tower's rooftop, his eyes seem to bulge out of his sockets. Astonished? Angry? Surprised? He looked at where Gaara was looking and saw that Hinata was nuzzling her cheek at Kankuro's neck. Kankuro was blushing furiously at the young girl's actions.

"You smell really, really, really, really, really nice, Kan-ku-ro!". And she giggled again.

Kankuro hurriedly took off all of Hinata's restraints and gave her lithe body to his brother. Gaara took hold of Hinata, and Hinata latched herself on Gaara's neck and rubbed her cheeks with his. "Gaara-sama! My most favorite, bestest piece of raccoon! I missed you so so so so so much!" and gave Gaara three full blown lip smacks on the neck. It was the first time he saw Gaara blush, the color as red as his messy hair. Obviously no one dared to call the Kazekage a raccoon. Or attempt to put a hickey on his neck.

"What happened here?" Finally Temari the Voice of Reason bothered to ask. He untied Tenzo of all of his restraints and carried the man in a fireman's carry.

"They bought 50 cookies, Tem, and had a stupid competition and ate them. Cookies had some deep shit drug. Hinata-chan tried to Jyuuken our dicks, sis! Our DICKS! I had to sacrifice my puppet and it was destroyed! But better it than Kakashi and me, of course, or I wouldn't be able to see the day when my grandkids will grow…. Anyway, they started making jokes, acted stupid and then we had to restrain them all for our sake. I swear if I ever get my hands on that cookie kid's parents, I'm gonna give them a whole fucking day of lecture on how NOT to put drugs on their damn commodities!"

Temari decided not to ask further, and led the way inside the tower.

While they were traveling down to their living room, Hinata and Tenzou decided it was the best time for them to joke around.

"It's a good thing Akimichis weren't ladies' men, Hinata-chaaaaan! Or they would give the Uchiha males a run for their moneeey."

"We wouldn't want that to happen, Tenzou. We don't want predatory women haunting poor Choji-kun because he practically can grow any part of his body. And when I say any part, I mean _any_ part." God, that flirty giggle again, quite foreign to his ears since Hinata wasn't like that in most occasions.

Temari and Gaara had to stop, shocked at their conversation. Kakashi and Kankuro didn't mind, because hell, they've been listening to these perverted jokes all throughout their ride.

"I wonder if I can come up with a joke on other techniques that can be used like thaaaat."

Giggle. "The Naras can use their shadow technique to bind their partner, Tenzou" Another giggle. "I hope Temari-chan can use it in their future marital bed."

Temari blushed and Kankuro laughed. _Oh, so she must have hit a nerve_, Kakashi thought.

Naruto's use of the Kage-bunshin made Hinata laugh so hard, the Kazekage had to use his sand to steady her.

"Are you still in love with Naruto?" A weird question coming from the young leader, _and with such an awkward tone_, Kakashi mused.

The kunoichi only shook her head and uttered "I got over him years ago, Ga-a-ra-sa-ma!", while she pinched and unpinched his cheeks with every syllable of his name. He could see the Kazekage visibly relaxed. _Weird indeed_.

According to her letters to him and Tenzou, she had become roommates with Gaara. _Is there a need to look underneath the underneath?_ Kakashi was curious.

The laughs produced by her small frame were the heartiest he had heard over all those sad years of confinement. As crazy as it seemed, he was thankful that maybe that drug brought out the happiest side of her. They continued this banter, mostly Tenzou and his stupid perverted comments while the Konoha kunoichi laughed and giggled and waved her hands over her at his silly antics.

Tenzou liked to mock Konoha's citizens, it seemed.

Inuzukas would take you from behind all night long. What's even better, they have fangs.

Rock Lee would do 500 sit-ups per minute while having youthful sex (whatever the hell that means) with his girlfriend. That is if he'd have one.

If Uchiha females were alive, according to Tenzou, they could mindrape him with Tsukuyomi for 72 hours and he could die a happy man. Kakashi wasn't surprised. He had long concluded that Tenzou should just establish and become president of The Closet Pervert Men's Club of Konoha, together with Ebisu and Iruka. But of course, he isn't one to say since he's one, too.

How Tenzou had come up with such stupid comments, Kakashi could just shrug. Go figure.

The tense air that once filled the atmosphere had dispersed, only to be replaced by Kankuro's wolfish laughs, Tenzou's comical expressions and Hinata's flaring red blushes amidst giggles and laughs. Temari was laughing too, albeit silently. While the Kazekage – well, he was just looking at Hinata like she had sprouted second and third heads.

Kakashi shook his head at the obvious enjoyment of his teammates. Who would have thought that these two shinobis who were both the silent types would be saying things like this when they are both drugged. They are now at the living room, where they carefully placed both shinobis in the two sofa; they both slumped opposite each other.

"Ne, ne, Hinata-chaaaaan! I'm pretty sure that intelligent brain of yours have something funny in there!" Hinata gasped and shook her head cutely, her hair swayed with every moment. "I think you have manyyyyyyyyy, you should tell me, we're friends riiiiight?".

After a few minutes of a barrage of tickles and screams, indeed, the Hyuuga finally gave in.

"Gai-sensei and that stamina of his. That taijutsu technique was not meant to open just "gates", I bet he is also able to open not less than 8 gates that belonged to women."

"Your clan is even worst, Hinata-chaaaan! You were born to be perverts, you see through walls and you even wear a mask! You're wearing that mask because you don't want to get caught looking through people's clothes."

"And you, Tenzou, why are you forgetting yourself? You're technique is also impressive, you can make wood with just your hands. And when you awake with your palms a Wood Dragon, I don't necessarily mean your kekkei genkai."

Tenzou opened his mouth and retorted. "And why are you forgetting Kakashi-senpai? The guy practically has copied 1000 techniques, how are we even sure he has only copied ninjutsu when for all we know he's been copying sex positions! And he wears a mask too because he's busy hiding those nosebleeds of his!

"Kakashi-senpai's Senin Goroshi (_A/N:_ _one thousand years of death_) could put a proctosigmoidoscopy and enema to shame. It could even treat hemorrhoids, diarrhea and colorectal cancer. That jutsu solos aaaaaaall ! ".

To add mockery to the Copy-Nin's technique, he even dared to shout "SENNIN GOROSHI!" at the top of his lungs, while he made the tiger seal and plunged his hands up and down to an imaginary butthole.

"And let's not forget, Hinata-chaaan, Kakashi-senpai was the ultimate sex god you brought down below your knees two years ago!"

_Holy motherfucking crappy piece of shit. _

Kakashi facepalmed. A drunk Tenzou is a noisy Tenzou, he should have expected this would happen when he's lost his inhibitions! _Way to reveal the worst kept secret. Nobody outside the team and the Hokage knew about that, stupid!_

"Tenzou, you really shouldn't have looked under that rock."

Hinata was drying her tears with her fingers, "Don't be such a party pooper, Kakashi. You do have an amaaaaazing chokuto." She choked on her saliva because she was still giggling. "That sword ripped off the built-in barriers within seconds. The One Thousand Years of Death, when moved a few inches upward, suddenly became the One Thousand Years of Pleasure." Her face suddenly lit up like a christmas bulb and she covered her mouth to laugh at his expense again.

"Is that true, Kakashi-san?"

_Great, one problem after another, Kami-sama just wouldn't let me take one Goddamn fucking break._ He would rather deal with a brooding or a manic Hinata and a drunk Tenzou, than to deal with a Kazekage with a big brother complex. But is this really just a big brother complex? If there was anything he was good at, it was observation. Behind that mask is a man who preferred to observe his surroundings and people; and Kazekage or not, Gaara is no exception. Especially now that he had found out that he was acting a bit weird. Well, weirder than usual, from what he deduced over his blonde student's ramblings about his best friend from Suna. He had studied the Kazekage's reaction, and he had an inkling that maybe this really wasn't just the aforementioned complex. Maybe it was more than that.

This killing intent is suffocating everyone. Or maybe he was just paranoid._** This was not the time to engage Suna in a civil war, all because of his damn chokuto and the innuendo behind it.**_

Kakashi flashed a nervous smile beneath his mask to the younger man. He tried, he really, really tried to become cheerful. "It was part of being an ANBU, Kazekage-sama. Being captured and raped by enemies is a very likely scenario, thus it was part of our policy. Hinata agreed to that decision that she had to sleep with one of us, than to trouble our team finding some stranger to sleep with. Trust me, if it wasn't necessary, I wouldn't be doing that."

"That is soooooo true," Tenzou snickered. "I even had to drug them, so they can deal with each other in bed, because they really did not want to do it. But then you didn't have to make a clone while you were doing it, Kakashi-senpai, and record everything with your sharingan." _Tenzou, you backstabber! I'm gonna beat your sorry ass when we return to Konoha, make you pay for my meals,and make sure to enslave you with training Naruto!_

"I think they just dug my grave." He rubbed his fingers on his forehead.

"Naaah, I think Gaara is currently doing you the honors in burying you in his sand coffin, so need to worry yourself, mate. Everything's being taken cared of." Kankuro pointed his finger to Kakashi's feet, where a large amount of desert sand started to crawl to his ankles, legs, hands, and feet.

_Good Lord, the Kazekage is trying to kill me!_

A shaky hand reached out to Gaara's forearm and wobbly raised herself to his figure. Gaara caught her by her elbows and held her. "Ga-a-ra, stop twisting Kakashi's legs with your sand."

The grains of sands fell and vanished.

Gaara may be unaware, but there's only one thing that sprouted out of Kakashi's brilliant mind.

_Damn, Gaara's whipped!_

_._

"I…I'm sorry, my sand just acted on its own." Thank heavens for Hinata who stopped Gaara from fracturing his body! He mentally raised his hand in a praying position to that higher diety, thanking him of his rescue from the wrath of a genius yet HIGHLY CLUELESS Kazekage.

Kakashi could see that the Kazekage was telling the truth. He had been sincere about the apologies. But what bothered him was that those fucking sand grains acted on its own. Maybe the sand was more attuned to his feelings than the Kazekage himself, who actually was a moron when it came to relationships and feelings? _He should really get in touch with Inner Gaara, that is if he has one, before he kills me or anybody with a penis for getting near his precious roommate!_

Hinata's body from her cheeks to her feet suddenly flushed red. Realizing the situation, he spoke immediately to warn the Suna leader.

"Kazekage-sama, Hinata's inability to sweat has trapped her body heat inside herself. Hashish can cause excessive sweating. I suggest that you give her cold shower for 15 minutes, that should bring her body temperature down."

"Why me? Why can't Temari do it?". _Aah, that hint of irritation. He clearly dislikes me._

"I'm helping Kankuro rebuild his puppet. It will take 3 hours or so, and Kakashi will take care of Yamato. Or would you rather take care of Yamato and Kakashi take care of Hinata-chan?" Temari's eyebrows rose suggestively.

"Hell, No!" the Kazekage roared with more vehemence than needed before he could even stop himself.

Temari, Kankuro and Kakashi both shared snickers, which made the Kazekage blush. "Then go on and give her a cold shower, _baby brother_!" Yeah, Temari was taunting him of course, especially the emphasis on the "baby" part. It seemed like those two older siblings were on the same page as Kakashi, and they have are all having the same conclusion.

"I would like to return as soon as possible to Konoha, Old Man Crow is waiting for us upstairs, he's the fastest of her summons and we will be able to arrive at Konoha tomorrow." _And because I don't want to get killed in my sleep with his sand, _he inwardly Kazekage and the three siblings nodded.

Gaara softly carried a lanky Hinata to their room, murmuring something about "drugs" and "missions" and "shirts". Tenzou was now passed out.

Kankuro, Temari and Kakashi shared knowing smiles and evil grins.

The Kazekage is growing up, albeit unconcsciously. He's just that thick, and Hinata isn't helping either.

And yep, Kakashi still doesn't think it's just an odd big brother complex. Nuff said.

* * *

A/N

finally got that out of the system...

Your thoughts? :D?


	17. Chapter 17

A/N

Thank you for adding this fic to your favorites: **darkfirex199**.

Thank you for following :) : **kaito kenshin , nublet**

**Veraozao - a big thank you :D/**

uhh, i think Guest on his review might be right :D based from my observation regarding last chapter's response (and the lack thereof), it may be safe to say that my humor does really suck. Haha.

So i had decided to not classify this fic as "Humor" anymore. it is now classified as "Romance" only. I am still undecided whether it should be "Romance and Adventure", "Romance and Drama" or "Romance and Mystery".

Would really much appreciate if you could help me reclassify this fic. The Humor was not successful; the die has been cast - i suck at "humor".

This chapter was not part of the original plan. bits and pieces of it were parts of different chapters. since the change in category, i felt this would be the most appropriate.

Disclaimer : i don't own naruto

* * *

Just what the hell was she thinking?

The bathhouse would have been his first choice, but he didn't want to see anybody else right now, especially that there's a hurricane of thoughts was about to plague his mind right now. God knows what he might do to them when they interrupt him and his musings.

He looked at the woman in his arms right now, limp as a rag doll and light as a feather. He went to his small bathroom and turned on the cold shower. He sat under it, opened his legs, and positioned Hinata to sit in front of him. He snaked his right hand to take hold of her deltoids, positioned all of her hair on one shoulder , while his left hand grabbed her waist . He pushed her back to his chest, and placed his chin on her shoulders. His grip was firm, protective, possessive.

He allowed the cold shower to invade through their senses, each drop of water soaked their forms, as if to drown the drones of his own voice that was attempting to invade his head right now. He closed his eyes . He made a soft hum he had heard Temari sing everytime she looked at their mother's picture.

She slept with Kakashi? Why didn't she tell him that? Wasn't he to be trusted enough to know something like that? Wasn't he good enough that he had to be led in the dark with her intimacies with the man? Why didn't she? And was it true that it was only done for the sake of missions? What if now that Hinata is all grown up, Kakashi wanted to pursue her? What if all this time, they were having a relationship together? Was that why they worked so well together? And what would happen to him now? Would she still be living here? Would she still be his roommate? Would her attention turn to him or to Kakashi? Why Kakashi? Why him? Why didn't she choose someone else? What did she see in Kakashi? Does she have feelings for him? Why not someone else? Why not someone…. Why not someone like him… or someone of their age?

Disappointment. Anger towards the Copy Nin. Frustration. Fear. Hurt. And that feeling he could not properly place a name to, although he felt something like that when they were young – when Temari and Kankuro would hold hands with their father and he was left alone to play with the sand and the teddy bear.

Now that he knew that the Hatake was not only one of Hinata's bestfriends but was also her lover, what is her roommate's place in her life? Would she abandon him? Would she leave him for the older man? Would she?

He could never get angry with Hinata, ever. These last three weeks were the best times he had ever had. Walking at 6am with her, cooking at 8am with her, sorting out missions from A-rank to S-rank with her, working in the office with her, eating lunch with her, training to improve his taijutsu with her, making dinner with her, going to the greenhouse and talking about plants with her, doing nightwalks with her. Her, her, and only her.

The last three days she was gone, he wasn't able to sleep. He went to their walks alone. He tried to cook, but it wasn't as tasty as her cooking. He had managed to sort out missions but it took him an hour longer than when they were doing it together. His office felt bare without her sitting on a couch near his window. Lunch tasted bland without her voice going on and on about this topic and that. He had obliterated most of the training grounds, because it was lonely and he missed her war cries whenever she was about to kick him in the face. He made dinner but it burned because he was staring at the pan for too long, thinking if she had been eating properly. He went to the greenhouse and talked _to_ the plants about his sleeping problems and talked to them about her, something he never did. Nightwalks were shorter, faster, and more boring without her warm hand on his. He would gaze outside for the whole night, sleepless and thoughtful, as he waited for her to come home and things would be happy again.

In his mind, him and Hinata had created a world of their own. Wherein inside that bubble there wasonly him and her. No one dared to be with him like that – ever. And she now held the position as the most important person to him, even above his own siblings. He would never allow someone to invade into their bubble and take her away from him. And Hatake Kakashi was threatening to take her away from him. To invade their universe and place himself between them, to put a barrier with him and his bestest bestfriend. Hatake Kakashi was trouble spelled with a capital T. If she chose the Hatake before him, it would be the hardest pill to swallow. The thought of her away from him instinctively made him wrap his arms around her tighter.

Hinata stirred for a moment, and started breathing heavily. He wrapped his arms around her tighter, to steady her. She tried to struggle from his grip, and thinking that she was trying to get away from him and go to Hatake, he crushed her with a formidable force that could rival his Sand Coffin. _No, no, I would never let you go. Don't go to him, please, don't go to him!_

Hinata let out a shrill he had never heard before, a heinous cry, that echoed throughout the bathroom and his room. She then went still and her chest slowly went up and down as she her breathing turned forced, slow, and shallow.

"Sakura-san, why did you betray me?"

And then she went limp on Gaara's arms. Flaccid. Cold. Lifeless and blue.

Gaara hurriedly placed her on the ground and put his head on her chest. She was cold and clammy. She's not breathing. She had no pulse. no heartbeat. No other signs of life.

Hinata had stopped breathing and died.

Only one thing came to his mind : he had killed her.

He made a clone and instructed it to go to Kankuro and Temari and ask for help.

He tilted her chin upwards and opened her mouth. He pinched her nose and closed his mouth into hers.

One puff.

Two puffs.

He hovered his hands over her, opened her kimono and started to pump his palms into her chest.

"Damn it, Hinata-chan, don't leave me!"

He had made his first round of CPR and was about to go on the second when the bathroom door burst open and revealed his brother and sister with his clone.

"Christ, Gaara, what happened?"

"I…. I think … I might have killed her with my grip." He kept on pumping his arms on her chest as his siblings looked appalled at Hinata's body, whose lips and fingertips were turning blue.

His sister tried to pry his brother away from him, but the soaking wet Kazekage pushed her on the ground. "Don't touch me, Temari!"

Kankuro immediately took action and punched Gaara's face.

"For fuck's sake, we need to go to the hospital, Gaara, damn it to hell if she's afraid of them or not!"

"I killed her… I killed Hinata-chan… I killed her with my grip…I… I killed her."

Kankuro straddled Gaara and punched him again, twice.

"Then wake up, bastard! Wake up and get your sorry ass out of this bathroom and carry her to the hospital!"

Kankuro grabbed Hinata from the floor and pushed her into Gaara's arms. He grabbed the sleeves of Gaara's soggy shirt, his younger brother's shocked and bloody face a few inches away from his. "Fly to the hospital, we'll be there in a moment. Don't mess this up, bro. Don't let your girl die."

Gaara stupidly nodded, and rushed out of the room. His clone opened the double door of his balcony, as he tried to make a sand cloud for him to fly. No such luck. He was soaked to the bones, so he dispersed his clone to preserve his chakra and jumped from one building to another.

When he arrived at the emergency room, the nurses and doctors hurriedly attended to Hinata, as a group of physicians tried to calm down a mad Kazekage . "She stopped breathing….. she… she just stopped breathing."

When Hinata was suddenly rushed to another room, he tried to follow her but was blocked by some male medics. He banged the door of the room as the male medics struggled to keep him at bay. In his rage and panic he was strong enough to push them away, but they were determined to get a hold of their rampaging leader.

"LET ME IN!"

"Kazekage-sama, you are not allowed inside that room!"

"I DON'T FUCKING CARE JUST LET ME IN!"

"Kazekage-sama, please, you are not allowed to get into these premises!"

Kankuro grabbed Gaara's shirt from behind and dragged him into the nearest room. Temari was furiously following behind them and locked the room for their safety.

She approached her brother and slapped him. Hard. "Get a hold of yourself! This is not the time for you to panic! What would she say to you now when she sees you attacking her fellow medics? HUH?"

The Kazekage's chest was heaving while his face darted from his furious siblings. He was about to reply when he saw the a boy and a woman inside the room. The boy looked frightened while holding his teddy bear, but nervously approached his angry sister from behind. He tugged her kimono and asked, "Temari-nee-chan, is he alright?".

* * *

**Inside Hinata's mind**

She was walking and laughing and rolling around on a field of marigolds, lilacs, lavenders, primroses and daisies when suddenly the scene changed.

Try as she might, she would never be able to forget this place. This dungeon smelled of sweat and stiff air, wherein one candle was the only source of light for this creepy place. She tried to pull her arms away from her bindings, but pulling them only made her wince.

She was in the middle of the room. The distance from ceiling to roof was approximately 15 feet; Two chakra strings from the ceiling were attached to her wrists, and her ankles were wrapped around with those strings too. She was left to dangle midair, her body swaying like a pendulum everytime those two young shinobis attacked her with their kunais and the edge of their chokutos. What's even more embarrassing, was that she was left dangling in mid air wearing only her bra and panties. Was all this humiliation worth it? Yes, because she would never allow one single word to utter her chaffed, broken lips.

The chakra strings attached to her neck, ankles and wrists burned her skin. Sweat only made matters worse, because they stung to every single laceration on her body. Her breathing was becoming difficult, because her broken nose dripped of blood and snot and her tears flowed silently out of her bloodshot eyes.

The man with the covered eye circled around her, his two young minions following close behind. He tried to open her mouth, but she grit her teeth to prevent him from what he was about to do. He kicked her in the stomach, which made her groan. He grabbed that opportunity to take hold of her tongue and with a single hand, made some hand seals and pushed his palms into her tongue.

It was one of the worst pain she had experienced in her short life. Hinata screamed in pain and tried to kick the man, but he was fast as lightning and was now about 7 feet to her left. She panted heavily and glared at the man, which only made the man laugh.

"How much more are you going to lose, Hyuuga? Hmmm, let me see that again. First you lost your mother's life and your GENIUS father lost his interest in you. Then you lost the friendship and bond with your uncle and GENIUS Branch member cousin when you were too pathetic to protect yourself from being kidnapped by Kumo . Add insult to injury, you even lost your title as heiress to your GENIUS sister. Tell me, Hyuuga, how many more of them are you going to lose?" He pushed his cane to her bruising stomach and put pressure on it. "Foolish little girl... You are the bane of these Genius' existence, Hyuuga, and compared to them, you are a mere fodder." He pulled a syringe out from his pocket and uncapped it. "Oh, I have an idea… A fodder like you should not be allowed to reproduce; Kami-sama knows what kind of insolent pathetic fool of a shinobi would a girl like you bear to this world. They'll be worthless! … So why don't we do something about it?" He grabbed Hinata's legs and plunged the syringe into her thigh.

She had not gotten over the pain of having her mouth sealed when another wave of intense pain circulated throughout her body like wildfire. She kicked and swayed through the room, while Danzo kept laughing at her attempts. She eyed the two young shinobis through half-lidded eyes, and noted their flat affects.

"Shin, you and your brother take the girl off from the ceiling and let her lie to the ground. Do not cut her wrist and ankle restraints."

"Hai, Danzo-sama."

The two young boys followed Danzo and took Hinata off from her bindings. Her body was too tired to struggle and too drained to flee. She lied on the floor bloody and helpless, while Danzo hovered over her like a hawk waiting for his mice.

He grabbed her hair from behind, and Hinata felt a cold metal directed near her shoulder blades.

"Tsk. Tsk. How could I forget. Let's add another point to your growing list of failures and losses, shall we? You might not appreciate me telling you this, seeing that I don't think you'll make it alive out here. Do you know why you're here, Hyuuga? Because someone stumbled upon a discovery involving you." She glanced sideways and glared at Danzo. "Tut, tut… Don't give me that look, Hyuuga. I might not know everything, but I will… soon… You'll never make it out of here… But I guess, that's a good thing…. I'm saving you now from a catastrophic heartache… Seeing that the whistleblower that I once met was one of your pathetic little "friends"."

He slowly used his katana to draw a very long diagonal scar on her back, while the young woman writhed in pain and agony. He felt proud of his artwork, felt happy for the suffering of the young Hyuuga heiress. The deep diagonal scar will be his souvenir for her in the afterlife.

"I pity you, Hyuuga. You have been backstabbed by a person you considered to be among your peers. I pity you, for you will die here and will never get to see the day that you will take revenge to your good old friend. I don't care about what you do to her, the only thing that mattered was that I got information from the little kunoichi. I pity you, Hyuuga, for you will never again see the whistleblower, _**Haruno Sakura**_."

And with that he left her there in the dungeon, left alone for the news of Sakura's involvement in her capture to sink in. Shin walked out after Danzo, while his dark haired brother held his gaze with her for a good ten seconds. He too left the room later.

_**"Sakura-san, why did you betray me?"**_

Her tired eyes closed, her puddle of blood bathed her in the darkness. The tears rolled off her cheek and landed on the cold ground. This was the worst nightmare she ever had.

* * *

**A/N **

phew :)

so which should it be? "Romance and Adventure", "Romance and Drama" or "Romance and Mystery"? would greatly appreciate if you share your thoughts and review after this chapter.

thanks.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N

Hello, everyone! so good to finally upload again :)

as always, here's a shoutout of thank you's.

for following: nuriiko , nublet , HinatamaniacXD

for adding this into their favorites : darkfirex199 , HinatamaniacXD

now on to the reviews...

A general big THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the reviews.

firegoat - yeah. haha... i had a sudden bout of low-self-esteem moment. and it kinda stuck.:D? haha.. hope you'll enjoy this chapter :)

sailorangelmoon1 - i was inspired by that omake wherein Tenzou was at a bar with Asuma, drinking his alcohol, dipping his wooden fingers into it and complaining about why Kakashi was torturing him with Naruto's trainings , making him pay for his senpai's meals, and treating him like a pushover. haha.

so i had tenzou reveal Kakashi's fetish when he had sex with Hinata, where he made a clone and managed to record their deed with his sharingan. :D

That's why Kakashi is torturing him. lol.

Haha, thanks. glad that you found it funny. thanks again :D

genotype -thank you :D i'm glad you took note of the revelations, i'm slowly revealing them. hehe. thank you for always coming back, and the reviews. glad you liked it.

evil-x-love - i think you will love this chapter. lol. and i love hinata, too. she practically looks good with anyone. and with that personality, they would only be a fool or incredibly negative people if they can't find something of her to love. thanks :D

Bittersweet-Core - a lot of you have considered classifying it as mystery. thanks for leaving a review here, btw :D

Kay-Gryffin - thank you :D glad you enjoyed it. haha. well, we really can't please anybody. can't say i didn't try it :D at least i made some people laugh. haha.

sweetgirl929 - thank you ! :D

Since most of the reviewers said that i should classify this in the mystery category, this fic is now in the Romance and Mystery Category.  
Thank you for your thoughts.

I have changed Hanabi and Hinata's age gap. instead of five, i opted for four years.

This was told in Hinata's perspective. It somehow has a feeling that it was made as a drabble. i hope i will be able to convey it effectively.

Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto.

Warning : Sakura bashing. lol. and this chapter's lengthy.

* * *

I woke up with the searing pain in my forehead. The ache originated from that particular place, which then radiated into my temples, the back of my eye, and reached even into the base of my neck. I tried to massage them with my fingers, but the slightest movement of my hands only made me groan in pain. I tried to open my eyes. Useless. Even my eyelids wouldn't open.

Oh, yes, I forgot.

I was kidnapped. Then stripped to my underwear. Restrained by chakra strings that would make a jutsu like Katon look like child's play. Hanged in the ceiling of Danzo-sama's many dungeons. Slashed and poked, lacerated over and over again by Danzo-sam – no, there really is no point in attaching honorifics to that horrid man. Slashed and poked, lacerated over and over again by Danzo's minions. I heard him when he ordered those two shinobis to "treat the Hyuuga well", that they must, as much as possible, "leave no skin untouched".

Such cruelty.

I once lived in a house of nobility, and although it shamed me to admit this, there is no point in denying the truth : the Hyuuga was a household full of sadists. A family full of perfect soldiers, that even the slightest errors were deemed atrocious and were highly unwelcomed. The main house was full of members who had anal-retentive personalities, except for my late mother, my late uncle, hopefully-not-yet-corrupted sister, and of course, my recently reformed Neji-nii-san.

Yes, the Hyuugas were deemed the strongest in Konoha, but the Hyuugas also wore the thickest, most impenetrable masks.

Or so I thought until I met Danzo.

"Good, you're finally awake, kunoichi," came the voice of an older woman. "Good grief, what was that old bastard trying to pull with torturing and an attempting to kill the Hyuuga Heiress?".

Aah, that old title again.

If that was the damage Danzo was aiming for, he didn't hit the bull's eye.

Because my otou-san had me disowned when I was seven.

When a three-year-old reluctant Hanabi defeated the seven-year-old me, the elders had finally decided to disown me. Included in the disownment paper my father contracted, it was also stipulated there that I was to be turned over to a legal guardian. Two days later, seven-year-old me became Yuuhi Kurenai's custody, who later became my sensei. The disownment was not broadcasted to all of Konoha, it remained a secret only a few people are made aware of.

Chiyo-sama placed a hand in my forehead, and I could feel her warm chakra conducting wonders into my head-splitting ailment. "This… this is just too much… Child or not, man or woman, what he did to you was just too much. The seal in your skull, this third degree burn in your forehead… I could only hope that you were unconscious when he did this, or your eyes would have rolled at the back of your head." Maybe that was why he plunged that syringe into me to silence my screams. Last thing I remembered was lying in that dungeon. He must have come back to place a seal inside my skull. Suddenly the Caged Bird Seal even looked more appealing than this.

She clucked her tongue and continued to talk. "My name is Chiyo, one of the Honored Siblings from Suna. I am an old friend of Hiruzen, the late Sandaime, and I am a medic-nin. Difficult circumstances happened while you were unconscious; there is more to this than meets the eye, but for now, you are in my house in Suna together with my otooto, Ebizo. As I've said I am a medic nin, and I've been attending to your needs ever since we found you in Konoha. I have already given you a thorough physical assessment and sent a top-secret letter to the future Hokage." She adjusted the blanket that draped over me. "If it assures you, kunoichi, I have examined your hymen and it is still intact. Meaning, you have not been sexually assaulted. That's the only consolation you received from all the beating."

She was right. For all the awful things I had experienced, I was internally glad that they didn't have to go that far. Those shinobis who maltreated me were not far from my age, and forcing a 12 year old girl and two 13-year-old boys to perform such acts would forever break me.

She checked the pulse points of my ankle, wrist and neck, and checked my temperature. "I had always thought Danzo was too sly to become a Konoha elder, but Hiruzen liked to give chances to people even though it was clear as day that they are already rotten inside and beyond help. Tsk. That Saru. He should not have allowed that bastard to roam free. He nearly killed a Hyuuga, a member of the four noble clans of Konoha. As an elder, he should have exercised to the fullest of his ability to protect Konoha's citizens, not bind them and lash them to death. No matter what others might say, for me he would always be a traitor."

Traitor.

Apparently Konoha has two of them, in my opinion.

Danzo Shimura.

And that pink haired member of Team 7, Haruno Sakura.

I have an idea of what she said to Danzo that lead to my capture, but I'm not aware of how they met and what she exactly told.

I should have seen this coming, I should have been careful since this was not the first betrayal I have encountered with her. But Haruno Sakura was an intelligent kunoichi, and she can be stealthy when she wanted to.

Chiyo-sama left after checking up on me, and in the solitude of this room, I found myself drowning in an ocean of thoughts. Thoughts of the past and of my childhood. Thoughts of the time when we became genin. Thoughts about the events that lead to Haruno Sakura's betrayals.

When we were four years old, children within our age group were sent to the playground to mingle with other students and of course, play. I was still too shy then, and many would give me weird looks because of my eyes. So I just sat down under one of the trees when I heard someone crying. I peered around and met with Yamanaka Ino.

I have seen her during my mother's funeral a few months ago. They were the ones who arranged the flowers for her ceremony. I've always wanted to be friends with her, but was too shy to approach. Reluctantly, I asked her what was wrong. And she said that Haruno Sakura had officially cut off their friendship. The reason behind it, she did not elaborate. So I approached her and gave her my hankie. She took it from my grasp. A few meters away from where I sat, there were Adam's Needle flowers. I knew they meant friendship, from what my mother taught me. I grabbed one, and offered it to her. She suddenly stopped crying, laughed, and said that that was what she really wanted right now. A friend. A best friend. And she said that she was happy that even though she had lost one, she had found someone in me.

Ever since that day, Yamanako Ino-chan, Sakura's rival, became my first female friend.

And since Ino-chan was a social butterfly, it was only natural for her to introduce me into her two other friends. My friendship with Ino-chan ultimately extended to Shikamaru-kun and Chouji-kun. It had something to do with their families being close friends, Ino-chan said. Then Shikamaru-kun and Chouji-kun started to cut classes with Kiba-kun. Kiba-kun and I were introduced, and then Kiba-kun introduced all of us to his friend Shino-kun. Who would have thought the six of us close friends would then become Team 8 and Team 10?

But growing old changes a lot of things. People change, seasons change.

I could vividly remember the day when I first felt betrayed by Sakura.

We were 11 years old and were still in the academy, Iruka-sensei was busy writing notes on the board. The farthest desk was occupied by Chouji-kun, me, and Kiba-kun. The three of us were secretly eating chips, chocolates and beef jerky that we had stuffed under the table. When Iruka-sensei wasn't looking, we would hurriedly stuff our mouths with the food : Kiba-kun and Akamaru-kun with the beef jerky, Chouji-kun with the chips, and me with the chocolates. Chouji-kun and Kiba-kun were experts at doing this, and I wasn't. Due to my clumsiness and me being a nervous wreck, I failed to notice the chocolate syrup that landed in my jacket.

"Hinata-chan, your jacket is stained." Chouji-kun pointed at my tan jacket.

"Woah! You might want to excuse yourself and wash it while it hasn't dried, Hinata-chan," Kiba-kun's whispered to me.

I politely asked permission from Iruka-sensei to go to the bathroom. When I got there, I hurriedly took off my jacket and washed the stained part in the sink.

One of the doors of the girl's bathroom opened, and revealed Haruno Sakura. She was staring at me as if in shellshock, and when I looked at what she was watching, I blushed. Underneath the tan jacket, I was wearing only a netted shirt and some bindings.

"Since when did you get those boobs that big, Hyuuga?", she approached me menacingly, her face inches from me.

"I – I, p-please don't tell anyone a-about this! P-please, Sakura-san."

"Okay. But I get to have your lunch." I nodded and she grinned. I assumed that a pact of silence was established, so when lunchtime arrived, I hurriedly gave her my lunch.

But by the end of the day, every girl in our class except for Ino-chan had scathed me, despised me, loathed me and hated me – because someone said that I had big boobs and well-developed more than anybody else and that I had womanly curves. And that I don't deserve them.

As far as I can remember, I have never done anything wrong with her, much less provoke her. I looked at my breasts and sighed. Yes, unfortunately they were big, bigger than what the usual females in my class had. It was part of the Hyuuga genes. Women from our clan had always been curvy, unlike the majority of my female classmates who were thin and slender. I am insecure of this part of my body, so I tried to hide it with jackets.

But then why would Sakura be angry at me? What did I do to gain such a reaction from her? Why did she not keep quiet?

And apparently the bust size is something worthy of competition among the female populace. Girls can be fickle. Was I in control of my genes and could you blame my hormones? No. But such reasoning will only fall on deaf ears, because apparently a body that is almost comparable (in size and shape) to a wooden stick is better than having a logical explanation from a decent brain – their standards anyway.

Fat. Plump. Fat plump weirdo. I am accustomed to be called weirdo by some, but "Fat Plump Weirdo" just stepped up the hurt by a notch. The level of hate just escalated. At least the guys were left out of the loop.

When Ino-chan heard about it, she worriedly asked me if it was true. She only knew half of the truth, so I told her everything .When I finished I sighed and with my eyes down casted I let the tears fall. She was fuming and about to have a confrontation with Sakura. I don't want to impose and burden Ino-chan with my dilly-dallies, so instead I just asked her for solutions to this problem. She opened my jacket and realized that I wasn't wearing bras.

Two frenzy hours later, I just bought a year's worth of training bras, sports bras and proper undergarments and stuff. The store was more than too happy to charge it to the Hyuuga account.

* * *

The second betrayal came a few days after Team 7 came home from their Land of the Waves. I heard from somebody that they had fought two S-rank criminals with great difficulty. While that person explained in detail what happened, by the end of the story that person said that the rations the Team had in their journey back home was bad.

So I decided to make 4 bentos for each member of the team, and while I waited in their Training Grounds for them to arrive. Haruno Sakura found my hiding place and cornered me.

"Trying to make bentos for Sasuke-kun, Hyuuga?"

I blanched. I shook my head. "I, I m-made bentos for a-all of you." I showed her the bentos I made. "I, I'm waiting for Kakashi-sensei so that I can give this to him. You c-can all share."

Haruno Sakura was taller than me. Her green eyes narrowed and she hurriedly grabbed the bentos. "I'll make sure I'll give these to them, so shoo away, Hyuuga, and get out of our training grounds!"

I personally wanted Kakashi-sensei to get all of them, so they won't be able to say no to my small offer. But when you're in front of this woman, you don't want to be on her bad side. I nodded and scurried away, but I waited 500 meters away from their training ground and activated my Byakugan. I just had a bad feeling about it.

Then the genins from Team 7 arrived, and one hour later, Kakashi-sensei entered the ground.

I shunshined from my original hiding place and stood just 20 meters from them.

They were talking about something when Naruto-kun suddenly shouted.

"Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan! What are you doing with those bentos?"

Sakura smiled and gave each of them bentos.

"I just felt like celebrating for the success of our last mission, so here, before training starts, I want to give you something I made. I hope you like it." She batted her eyelash to Sasuke, and giggled when he accepted.

"Wow, thank you, Sakura-chan, you're the best!" Clearly he was impressed.

They individually opened the packs I made and the bentos were now on their laps.

Naruto-kun gobbled the food I made with enthusiasm. Kakashi-sensei was silently eating his food. Sasuke only glared at his food, took out the tomatoes. He shoved the food into Naruto-kun's lap.

"Teme, dontcha want to eat Sakura-chan's cooking?"

Sasuke only glared at Naruto-kun, but the blonde wasn't affected. "I'm not hungry." He walked out on them and decided to sit under the shade of the tree, his face now expressionless.

"Aaw,Sakura-chan, the food you made was delicious and great! As expected from the woman I approve of! You'd make a great wife someday!"

Sakura, who was frowning from her other teammate's departure, flashed her blonde teammate a smile that made Naruto-kun blush. "Thanks, Naruto!"

My heart shattered into pieces when I saw them. So I hurriedly went away.

Why did Sakura lie to them? And she said that she cooked for them? Why?

From what I heard from Ino-chan, Sakura didn't know how to cook.

For someone who openly despised Naruto-kun, why did she have to bask on his praises? Why did she have to happily soak on his compliments, publicly punch and hurt him but openly chase after another teammate?

Girls for me were still fickle.

For the third betrayal, fickle was an understatement.

She sold me to Danzo.

The things I knew, I kept them. Somehow Sakura got wind of something, bumped into Danzo. And told him of what she knew.

That finally broke the camel's back.

_**Hotoké no kao mo sando nazuréba, hara wo tatsu.**_

"Stroke even the face of a Buddha three times, and his anger will be roused." _(A/N Japanese Buddhist proverb)_

This day marked my epiphany.

* * *

**_(Timeskip, 1 month after Chuunin Exams)_**

I have not talked since I came here. I was trapped in my own world of nightmares and hallucinations. Danzo and Orochimaru's voice resided in my head.

Chiyo-sama walked into my room where I was huddled in a corner.

"I have good news for you." She placed my food on the table, but I was still staring into nothingness. " The toad boy Jiraiya had come back from his trip with the fox boy, and he had brought back his old teammate. The Slug Princess and granddaughter of Hashirama Senju. Tsunade-hime has returned to Konoha to become your Godaime."

And then my dormant brain suddenly decided to come alive.

Everyone knew of Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama and Orochimaru as the Legendary Sannin.

Jiraiya-sama became Naruto-kun's sensei.

Orochimaru had marked Sasuke.

Aside from being Hokage, what would Tsunade-sama do?

The job of a Hokage is quite boring, if you're going to be trapped in loads and loads of paperwork, in my perspective. Hokage-sama may have some free time for herself. Jiraiya-sama had decided to take on a student, so quite possibly, she might become interested into being a sensei, too. Medical ninjutsu entailed having perfect chakra control.

Haruno Sakura had perfect chakra control. And she was the ultimate cutthroat bitch.

She would surely want to learn under Hokage-sama's tutelage.

After one whole month of being insane, I finally had found something worthy of interest.

In that instant, I had decided that I wanted to crush Haruno Sakura.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. _(A/N Hammurabi Code)_

The arrival of Tsunade-sama had lit up the fire within me.

With knobbly hands and dirty fingers, I made the bow named Goshu-zarei and begged.

"Chiyo-sama, my name is Hyuuga Hinata, ex-heiress from the proud Hyuuga clan of Konohagakure no Sato. Thank you for taking care of me. Please, I beg you. Please become my sensei to teach me medical ninjutsu."

It was the first time I did not stutter.

Chiyo-sama was silent for awhile.

"So you finally decided to say something, and the first thing you do is ask me to teach you medical ninjutsu."

I remained silent and maintained my position on the floor.

"Took you long enough." She headed to my door and spoke. "Meet me and Ebizo at the room underground. 5AM tomorrow, don't be late." She opened the door and made herself out.

That night marked the end of the coward in me.

The next day was the start of my relationship with my new senseis.

* * *

_**(A few months later)**_

I just arrived from one of Suna's many caves and mountains where I usually meet with Old Man Crow. We had been training for a few months in the dessert with his murder.

I had a visitor. I remembered her as my sensei in the Chuunin exams. Her name was Mitarashi Anko-sensei. They talked for a while with Chiyo-obaa-sama and Ebizo-ojii-sama.

When I approached them, Anko-sensei suddenly hugged me.

"Fledgling! How are you doing? Glad you made it alive!" I wasn't expecting that kind of greeting. But I liked that, and I liked her attitude.

She reminded me of Ino.

And then she explained to me what Hokage-sama wanted. Armed with the new resolve to crush Haruno Sakura, I accepted. What was there to lose? It would make me stronger. I had everything to gain.

"So fledgling, I'm going to be your sensei, but before teaching you everything about Psychology and the other interesting stuff, you're still going to therapy." I could only nod.

With Anko-sensei's guidance, I had therapy and had background in Psychology.

I finally had two explanations on why Haruno Sakura was like that.

Apparently with her large forehead came an even larger ego. The necessity for others to ALWAYS stroke that large ego was just too strong.

And she's too important and thought too highly of herself to stroke her own ago, so she allowed others (e.g. Naruto) lap on her palms and do the stroking.

Haruno Sakura was one cutthroat bitch. One narcisstic, cutthroat bitch.

* * *

_**(Timeskip, a few months later)**_

I was walking in Yugakure with Anko-onee-chan where we are going to meet Jiraiya-sensei. I had met Jiraiya-sensei a few weeks after Anko-sensei arrived at Suna. He was away on a solo mission, and we were instructed to meet with him here.

These two had the weirdest and perverted lessons, but the equally stimulating Psychology and Ninjutsu related trainings were worth to compensate for those weird teachings.

Anko-onee-chan had already booked us two rooms, one for her and me, the other for Jiraiya-sensei. We met up with him, and at 9 pm, he instructed me to come to his room for the training.

I sat in the middle of his room opposite him. I wondered what training was in for me tonight.

He handed me a few sheets of paper. I read a few sentences in it and I finally knew what it was.

It was rough drafts of his Icha Icha series. So what I had to do now was edit it.

I sighed. Jiraiya-sensei just doesn't change at all.

"Ooh, Hinata-chan, I needed you to check all these works for me, seeing as you're my editor-in-chief, might as well try to catch up with things and do some editing!"

Jiraiya-sensei was one funny man, but his strength is not to be underestimated.

I edited, proofread his works for the next thirty minutes. When I came to page 32, I suddenly stopped.

There was something written at the back of the page. I read it. I paled, my hands shook at my lips trembled at my discovery.

It wasn't a well known fact that Jiraiya-sama was a cheapskate. He often used recycled papers in writing his drafts. Meaning, at the back of his drafts, different sorts of writings were expected to be seen.

But this one really did a number.

On the back of page 32, was a draft of Naruto-kun's love letter to Sakura, written in Naruto-kun's dirty handwriting.

My name was written in it.

From what I had deduced from Naruto's answers, he had said that Sakura would always be number one in his heart. And that he didn't know that I had feelings for him, that he was sorry he did not know, and would she please forgive him for mentioning my name on his last letter to her. That she doesn't have to doubt his faithfulness of her. And even though he did not have feelings for me, if I were alive, he would still have chosen her over me. His undying devotion would always be directed to her and only for her.

What. The .Fuck.

Even in my so called "death", why is my name being dragged around?

That Haruno.

I was seething in anger for the casual play of emotions she did on Naruto-kun. She also had to reveal to him that I had feelings on the blonde. Why did she have to reveal that? Whether I'm alive or dead, she doesn't have the right to reveal my feelings to him. My blood boiled. My brows furrowed. The only thing I wanted to do right now was wring Haruno Sakura's neck and snap them vertebrae by vertebrae.

"You reek of hatred. As expected."

Jiraiya-sama was quietly observing me. He must have gotten intel from Anko-onee-chan about my Psychology reports. That cursed seal on my tongue and in my forehead had left lots of holes in the report, because it prevented me from speaking of the truth. And part of the truth was Haruno Sakura.

Again, I say that Jiraiya-sama's powers are never to be underestimated. This is one of them.

This was not a mere session of editing his porn. This was his way of testing my reaction.

"I think that simply proves one of my theories. I finally had an answer to the mystery that was Hyuuga Hinata-chan." He gave me an earnest smile and instructed me to sit beside him. I obliged. He's the other fatherly figure I have right now, him and Ebizo-ojii-sama. And Kami-sama knows that I was deprived of that in my past life.

"You hated her. Hinata-chan, I can understand. But hate is just too strong. Why don't we level it down to just, you "disliking" her?" I shook my head. I could not let go of what she had done to me.

"When people get hurt, they learn to hate... when people hurt others, they become hated and racked with guilt. But knowing that pain allows people to be kind. Pain allows people to grow... and how you grow is up to you." _(A/N Original Jiraiya quote)_

I could only remain silent.

"If you want to have revenge, do it differently."

More silence.

"A military operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective." _(A/N Art of War by Sun Tzu)_

Even more silence.

"The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities... It is best to win without fighting."_(A/N Art of War by Sun Tzu)_

"Bloodbaths and killing her would become messy. Why not trump her by other means?"

This is getting really awkward. He had preached about hatred, and now he's talking about taking revenge into a different direction. One that was less "messy".

"Intense emotions such as anger, fear, hatred, happiness, jubilance – anything with emotion changes your chakra flow. When you get angry, Hinata-chan, your chakra flares up. Your facial expression changes. You become easy to read. In the face of danger, this will become your opponent's ace."

He shifted in his seat and turned to look at me. "How about we make a deal, ne? I would teach you how to mask your chakra. I would teach you how to identify the different shifts and spikes in other people's chakra, and to identify what kind of emotions those changes involve. I would train you to how to control your emotions and facial expressions. I would teach you how to wear masks and how to act when you face your enemy. I would teach you how to direct that hatred of yours into something productive and less destructive . I would teach you to use that hatred in combat, to project your aggression in life into your battle. In return, I want you to level down your hatred of her, into disliking her. From what I've seen, that girl doesn't have a single control of her emotions. From crying to beating down my student with her fists. She has emotional issues on her own. If you can control your emotions and remain calm even in the face of adversities, you have already defeated her in that manner. Because you have control, and she doesn't."

That actually sounded like a genius plan.

"So what do you say about that? Do we have a deal, Hinata-chan? "

This man, I could never really fathom the depth of Jiraiya-sama's character. He can be the goofball at one point, and become the most serious person the next.

Especially for me.

He always had too much to offer, and so little to gain.

Always.

I nodded. He held out his hand. I held out mine.

He smiled.

Few months later, I mastered what Jiraiya-sama had taught me. I became a master at masking my emotions when in front of my enemy. But he encouraged that I still remained my personality when I am with my trusted friends.

I had downgraded my hatred into disliking. And I have become stronger, stronger than ever.

He even polished my Katon.

**Swift as the wind**

**Quiet as the forest**

**Conquer like the fire**

**Steady as the mountain** _(A/N Art of War by Sun Tzu)_

Jiraiya-sama was a genius. A man who had lived up to the title of "Sannin".

Also, he had a nice and firm handshake.

I liked that.

* * *

_**(Timeskip: few months later)**_

Three days ago, I had just met up with my new senseis. One that I knew of and one that was a complete stranger.

Three days ago, I met up with Kakashi-sensei and Tenzou-sensei.

Anko-onee-chan was called back to Konoha, and Jiraiya-sensei was traveling with Naruto-kun. Finally getting over him was one of the best feeling ever.

Tenzou-sensei's stomach lurched, and Kakashi-sensei and I stopped.

"Aah, sorry, sorry! I really haven't had a proper meal for two weeks." He bashfully scratched his back with his right hand.

"That's okay, Tenzou. Why don't you make camp so we can stay for the night." Tenzou-sensei smiled and nodded.

"Mokuton: Shichūka no Jutsu!" (Wood Release: Four-Pillar House Technique)

I always had respect for Kakashi-sensei. But with one jutsu, Tenzou-sensei had already earned mine.

"Let's camp inside. And maybe you could cook for us, Tenzou."

"Kakashi-senpai, you know I can't cook." Senpai? So he's Kakashi-sensei's kouhai (lowerclassman). From where? And then it clicked.

ANBU. I am being taught by people from ANBU.

"I can cook for us, Kakashi-sensei. Tenzou-sensei." They both looked at me, but I held my stare too.

We all went inside and I headed straight to the kitchen.

Then they went outside. Kakashi-sensei hunted for rabbits, while Tenzou-sensei went out for mushrooms and the herbs. I went into my pack and grabbed some small pans and some utensils.

An hour later, we were eating in the table, all three of us eating silently when Kakashi-sensei looked at me, scrutinized me and openly stared.

"Your cooking is delicious. It was even better than Sakura's one-hit bento."

I arched an elegant brow at him, while Tenzou-sensei calmly drank his tea and eyed our interaction.

"Maybe it's not only in cooking that I am better than her."

I gulped my tea.

And then he smiled. Underneath his mask, he just did it.

Kakashi-sensei knowingly smiled.

I was right then. His impeccably sharp taste buds had remembered the bento incident, and now knew that Sakura wasn't the one who cooked and prepared them.

Tenzou-sensei was a sensitive man too. For he also smiled and didn't bother to know what that meant.

He just knew it was something personal, completely mine.

They instantly knew that "Haruno Sakura" topics were taboo.

That was how our team dynamics begun.

Kakashi-sensei taught me the basics and intricacies of military wars, formations and strategies. He even allowed me to spoil Pakkun and his ninkens. The best part about all of it, he had no qualms in revealing his face to me. I was right. He had a divided chin, which even made him more handsome.

Tenzou-sensei made my elemental affinity, water, even better. Plus he fixed some of my weird quirks that I picked up from onee-chan and Jiraiya-sensei. He said that I'd get raped for being that perverted. He was like a mother hen, disciplined and doted on me. I think he had the right to do so, because sometimes I ran around naked. He, together with Kakashi-sensei, shaped up my dark personality and subdued it. Tenzou sensei challenged me to eating contests, and that always is a plus.

I often had my moments of nightmares, and they asked often what's wrong. I tried to talk but I could only cried. Those damned seals prevented me from doing just that.

They just understood.

Many things happened, and then I was promoted to ANBU.

Suddenly the sensei suffix was gone. So was the –san attached to mine.

It became Kakashi, Hinata, Tenzou.

Dog, Crow, Cat.

Weird combination, but it was one of Konoha's best ANBU teams.

The best team with the best teammates.

My best friends.

* * *

I have come far from that stuttering mess of a kunoichi I was.

I have trained day and night, rain and shine.

I trained for Konoha. Because according to Jiraiya-sensei, wherever someone thinks of you, that's where home is. _(A/N Original Jiraiya quote)_

For my foster parents in Suna.

For my ANBU teammates and our summons.

For my senseis.

For the friends in Konoha who thought that I was dead, and I fervently hoped that I will be able to see them again.

For Team Kurenai.

For my very large family in Konoha. Jerks they may be, but they're still family.

For myself, for the new Hyuuga Hinata.

And for my rival, Haruno Sakura.

Only time will tell when I will be able to see you.

Everyone in this world is connected by at most six degrees of separation.

I'll be waiting for the day when wewill finally meet.

For the moment, I'll just continue being Konoha's best kept secret ANBU agent while you continue your journey in becoming Tsunade-sama's apprentice.

Til then, Haruno Sakura.

Til then, my favorite narcissistic, cutthroat bitch.

* * *

A/N

I was kinda indifferent with Part one Sakura. except that one time where she made Naruto promise about bringing Sasuke back. Why not do it on your own? and why have the person who loves you bring back someone you love, just because you wanted to? Isn't that somehow cruel on Naruto's part?

Part two Sakura, i was happy with her development with Sasori. Sasori was trolled by allowing himself to get killed, but the Chiyo-sama and Sakura tag team was quite effective.

What really sealed the deal of my dislike of her, was when she confessed to Naruto about her so called "feelings". i mean wtf. You could have simply said to Naruto that you would not want to burden him with the promise and that you don't want him chasing around for Sasuke anymore. You don't have to go and make a lowblow by a fake confession and playing the You-have-feelings-for-me-so-i-know-you'd-do-anything-for-me trump card again. At least Naruto saw through it.

Add salt to the wound, she tried to kill Sasuke. WITH A FUCKING KUNAI. heck, how are you going to kill an S-class criminal with just a poisoned kunai?

Worst part, she choked. Was unable to kill him. because she still loved him.

Who wants to keep loving a person who wanted to kill you - twice?

At least when you try to do something drastic, don't choke on the last moment and fucking do it.

that officially started the day that i disliked her character. and her lack of character development.

what about you? haha.

lol, i ranted. just wanna let it all out.

please read and review this chapter. your thoughts? :)


	19. Chapter 19

A/N

Hello, everyone, sorry for the late update. I have been very busy with a lot of things, especially for my sister's graduation celebration. i will try to update sooner.

thank you SinTotchi for adding this to his favorites :)

nuriiko - yeah, how i wished she had that kind of power, it'll be very very interesting indeed. With the Naruto-Hinata love theme and the lack thereof, I think we can all agree that Kishimoto-sama is not the greatest story teller when it comes to romance. ^_^ . The only canon pairs in the series are Asuma and Kurenai, Dan and Tsunade, Minato and Kushina, Fugaku and Mikoto, Karura and the Fourth Kazekage, Hiruzen and Biwako, Hashirama and Mito. And those are all adults, and most are dead. lol. But I do hope the little things i saw in the manga, i hope they were hints of what's to come for Naruto and Hinata. Kishimoto-sama is a master of foreshadowing, just like Oda-sama from One Piece. The little hints are here and there, and I just hope it'll be a happy ending for Naruto, and a happy ending for Hinata. Because they deserve to have one... But hey, the series is still on going. So only Kishimoto-sama knows.

genotype - hahaha. i get what you mean. Would you agree with me, that whenever there is an involvement regarding Sasuke, everything goes downhill with her? I like Sasuke, he's a great character, one of the most well developed in the manga, I believe. Naruto, the main character, he's gone into an emotional circus, too, but has that prevented him from growing? But Sakura, she was the heroine, and when you attach "heroine" into a character's name, you expect her to show some feats that are near or at par with her teammates. Unfortunately, she failed to deliver.

for instance, Chiyo + Sakura vs. Sasori = great fight; she showed she was intelligent. Nice taijutsu skills.

Sakura + Naruto vs. Sasuke , the poisoned kunai fiasco = epic fail; i don't know where the intelligence went; if there's anything "Sasuke-kun" attached to the situation, expect her feelings to get in the way.

The filler animators love Hinata. lol. Next week's filler episode is about Neji and Hinata part 1. At least we get to see a full episode of her :) And April's still about filler episodes.

firegoat - Aah, i get what you mean. all of those things you mentioned they really did happen. Kinda frustrating, really. I really don't know why Kishimoto-sama hyped her to be an intelligent kunoichi in part 1, only to be contradicted by her actions mostly in part 2. And as far as the manga goes now, i have rarely seen her in panels. SMH

Kishimoto-sama really likes parallels. Madara and Hashirama, Sasuke and Naruto. Tsunade-Jiraiya-Orochimaru, Rin-Kakashi-Obito, Sakura-Sasuke-Naruto.

especially the Rin-Kakashi-Obito and Sakura-Sasuke-Naruto. A medic, a genius, and the deadlast.

I just wish Kishimoto-sama would get more creative and we would not get a repeat performance of a chidori to the heart.

about Jiraiya-sama in the story: no. he's not in Naruto's favor... I will show what he meant in future chapters. i hope i'll deliver. lol

HinatamaniacXD - thank you for loving this story :D i know it's kinda slowpaced... yeah, me too.. at least the animators are doing her a favor next week :D Hyuuga ftw!

RiverWing21287 - amen.. haha.. thank you :)

Veraozao - thank you :) we'll see :D

Guest - thank you... hope you will enjoy this too

sailorangelmoon1 - thank you so much:D glad you enjoyed it.. yeah, it wasn't about her promise anymore, didn't Naruto say something like "How can i become Hokage if i can't even save a friend?" speech? i forgot the specifics, but that was the jist :)

For this chapter, well, there are OCs here. :) And this may be a short chapter, and may lack the badassery, but i hope you will enjoy the interactions...

will be very happy for reviews.

Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto

* * *

It was now 11 pm, and Hinata had already been admitted for an hour.

Temari sat at the bedside and was talking with Heisa, their Baki-sensei's wife. 5 ft. 4 inches tall, black hair, big brown eyes, and motherly face with a warm smile. She was lying on her left side because of her very big abdomen. Baki-sensei's wife was 32 weeks pregnant with twins.

Kankuro was performing a small puppet show (using clean socks ) to Ryuu, Baki-sensei's first born child. He's six years old, and was currently holding on with his right hand his teddy bear he aptly named "Mr. Teddy". The only thing remotely similar to Baki-sensei and his child was their black hair. The rest were obviously from his wife. Even her personality and joyful nature, their son inherited them from her.

Said child was also responsible for admitting his mother to the hospital, because the twins in his mother's womb were kicking for a good fifteen minutes. Ryuu was instructed by his father to take care of his mother, and to transport her to the hospital even in the slightest sign of pain. Baki-sensei just left this morning for a 3-day mission, and like the enthusiastic and obedient son that he is, Ryuu vehemently guarded and took care of his mother.

"Ne, ne, Kankuro-nii-chan, what happened to him?"

Kankuro looked at the child and then looked at Gaara. Right. Gaara was never interested in socializing with a lot of people, and was too much of a workaholic that he never even had the chance to meet Baki-sensei's family. He and Temari, of course, had already met them on countless occasions. In their little hospital drama that happened an hour ago, they had taken the recluse on the first room they saw, and accidentally entered the ER's OB-GYN observation room, to which their sensei's wife was currently resting.

"Aah, that's the Kazekage, Ryuu-chan." The boy tilted his head in confusion.

"Oh," he paused, and frowned again. "Why does Kazekage-sama look… dirty like that?" He pointed at Gaara, and Kankuro knew what the child meant.

Gaara was brooding in the corner, his shirt and face bloody from Kankuro's punches. Temari's handprint was still visible on his face. Water and blood mixed; add into the equation the young leader's remorseful aura, and it did not paint a pretty picture.

Gaara had sent a clone to his room forty minutes ago, and instructed him to clean it. He refused to budge from his position after he changed his soggy clothes with a doctor's scrub suit. His face was downcast, head covered in a towel while another draped at his shoulders.

"Because he was being a di-" which earned him a distasteful glare from Temari. "Because he panicked and forgot to control his emotions." He needed to really watch his language whenever Ryuu is around.

The young boy's eyes grew wide. "Kazekage-sama panicked?" Kankuro gave him a sincere smile. Kid must have thought Gaara was too cool for that.

"Yes, you see. We have a sick girl in our house and well… Kazekage-sama saw that she suddenly stopped breathing and then he panicked."

"It's the same with otou-san, whe he sees okaa-san's frown and then she starts to rub her belly, he always wants to come to the hospital immediately. I've been here like" He started to count with his small stubby fingers and held the number 4 to Kankuro "four times this month."

"Yeah, like sensei, like student." He glanced back at his brother, who was still lost in his own world.

"Is she Kazekage-sama's wife?"

Temari laughed at the background. "Ryuu, you shouldn't ask questions like that! Temari-chan, I'm sorry for the rude question. Sometimes he's just… too honest."

His big brown eyes met with his mother's, his mouth suddenly the shape of an "o". "But okaa-san, otou-san panics when you're sick, Kankuro-nii-chan said Kazekage-sama panicked… she must be his wife if he panicked like that!"

Temari placed her hand on Heisa, and she interjected, "No harm done, oba-san. For a six year old child to think like that, that's brilliant! And being honest is good, right Ryuu-chan?". "Hai!" was the shout they heard from the child, which made everybody laugh.

"I – I mean, she must be someone important to Kazekage-sama if he became like that." He shuffled his feet, and looked at the ground. "If me or otou-san see okaa-san stop breathing, I think we'll panic, too. Especially otou-san."

"He was just being curious, so no harm done." He looked at the boy again and gave him a pat. "You've done a great job, buddy! Taking care of oba-san while sensei is away, that's amazing!" The boy's facial expression glowed with happiness, while his mom gave him the warmest smile. "And you're quite receptive and in-touch with your feelings, squirt, unlike others who are stuck in a whirlpool of confusion and in a hurricane of abyss and denial." He made the last phrases loud enough for his brother to hear, to get him out of his reverie. No such luck. The guy's still as unresponsive as a dead cockroach. He sighed.

Ryuu continued to look from his nii-chan to Kazekage-sama. He felt that his nii-chan has been having a hard time talking with the kage, and Temari-nee-chan was not talking to the kage, too. When the three siblings entered the room, he saw his nee-chan slap the redhead. Ryuu felt that he must do something for their leader, and with reluctant steps he went to the sink, tiptoed to open the water and soaked his hankie.

He silently approached the still-as-a-statue Kazekage. Mr. Teddy in his right hand, the hankie on his left, he offered his handkerchief to his leader. "Please accept this, Kazekage-sama."

Gaara slowly raised his head. Tanuki eyes met brown ones. Transfixed, the kid suddenly exclaimed. "CHICHI! "

And then Ryuu suddenly hugged Gaara.

The latter was too shocked to respond.

"Look, okaa-san, it's Chichi! It's Chichi! Chichi is here!" He excitedly called to his mother and pointed at Gaara. Her mother was blushing profusely at the boy's exclamation.

"Who's Chichi?", asked a confused Temari. Kankuro was curious too.

"Chichi is the best, most awesomest father in the world!" He pumped his fist in the air. "I mean, no, he's just second to otou-san, but he's still awesome!"

"Chichi is the father of Nino-kun, four-year-old child star of Ryuu's favorite show. Chichi has superpowers and fights demons that invade the world." Heisa explained. She was holding back a smile before she added. "Chichi also has no eyebrows."

Ryuu suddenly climbed on Gaara's lap, and the confused leader held unto the kid like a fragile glass. No one taught him how to handle children, much less a child who suddenly out of the blue becomes attached to you. Ryuu gave him a boyish smile, and started wiping the leader's face with his hankie. "Chichi, your face is very dirty. Haha will be very sad if she sees you like this." He continued to clean his face, while an even more confused Gaara looked at his siblings and the kid's mother.

His mother clamped her lips before she smiled. "Haha is Chichi's wife. Chichi is actually short for Chichue (father), and Haha for Hahaue (mother). On the show, stories are told in Nino-kun's perspective, that's why he called them Chichi and Haha, and well.. . as you can see my Ryuu has a very vivid imagination."

Kankuro smirked at Temari and Gaara. "The nickname's kinda cute. And what does Haha look like?"

"Brunette, long hair, big eyes. She's a very nice character, and I often see her cook nutritious meals for Nino-kun. She encourages Nino-kun to eat delicious healthy foods, that's why I don't have a problem with Ryuu eating his vegetables." She beamed with pride at his son, who was very much concentrated in cleaning the Kazekage's face gently, while the young leader tried not to wince when the kid touched his bruises.

_Who would have thought my lovely son, a six year old boy, would be able to climb unto Gaara-sama's lap and wipe his face clean. I knew that Gaara-sama had changed, but to be able to see him in the company of a child, it really changes things_, Heisa mused.

"Aah, I think I know someone like that, don't we, Kankuro?" Temari teased his brother, Gaara was too busy holding the child steady, but made a quick glance to his sister.

"Yeah, oba-san, she's actually being tended in the other room now, you know, the one that my brother carried here because she stopped breathing." Kankuro's smirked widened when he saw Gaara's eyes widened.

"Chichi, is that girl my Haha?" Ryuu looked at Gaara, hopeful that he will gain a positive answer from his Chichi.

"You can see your Haha when she awakes, Ryuu-chan, I'm sure she wouldn't mind. Chichi can take you with him." She folded her arms, raised her brow and smirked, as if demanding Gaara to contradict and not follow her order. The kid attached his small arms on Gaara's chest and hugged him. "Chichi, I'm so happy! I can see my Haha!" He buried himself unto Gaara's torso, as if letting go of the kage would lose his chances of seeing his Haha.

Gaara was cornered. He looked at his sister, who was happily brushing Ryuu's mother's hair; Ryuu's mother only smiled at him bashfully, while his brother – ah, what do you expect from the bastard. Kankuro gave him a smile that he interpreted as you're-trapped-motherfucker-let's-see-you-stomp-that-kid's-dreams. Clueless as he may be about childrearing, he was sure that denying a child's dream would surely crush him. When he muttered "okay", he gave the child a pat on his hair. And when Ryuu looked up to him, he had seen the most innocent, naïve, beautiful smile coming from a kid – and it was directed to him. His insides felt warm. He suddenly felt happy. He gave him a soft smile.

"If I knew that would have taken you out of your drama, I would have placed Ryuu-chan in your lap about an hour ago. Welcome back to Suna, bro!" Hearty laughs filled the room, while Ryuu was busy talking to Mr. Teddy about his Chichi and Haha.

"Why don't you and Ryuu-chan stay with us, oba-san, until Baki-sensei comes home? I'd hate to leave you both alone, especially now." She looked at Ryuu-chan and his brother, the kid introducing his teddy bear to Gaara. "And he can spend time with Gaara and our friend, too."

"I wouldn't want to impose - "

"You're not imposing, oba-san, so come on, I'll give you the guest room next to Temari's so you can both do your girly stuff together. Just – don't let me see the two of you putting icky stuffs in your faces."

"Wouldn't Kazekage-sama's girlfriend mind our company?" Kankuro shared knowing looks with his sister. Theiroba-san is assuming that Hinata was Gaara's girlfriend and Ryuu-chan is calling them "Chichi" and "Haha", it'll be tricky to explain why the hell is Hinata sleeping and living in Gaara's room when they are not even together. It'll be difficult enough to explain it to oba-san, try explaining that to a child! Saying that Hinata is Gaara's girlfriend is the easiest route to take.

"His girlfriend wouldn't mind, oba-san. And I'll think she will like you and Ryuu-chan."

"If you say so, then, okay." Temari squealed with glee while she hugged her, just as the Medical Director came in.

"Aah, just the people I was looking for. Kazekage-sama, Temari-sama, Kankuro-sama, Heisa-san, Ryuu-kun, good evening." He was a forty year old stern looking man, but for anyone who knew of Mori-sensei, he is the go-to guy whenever things go out of hand. A natural pacifist who had an eye for detail, he had been voted by all the medics to head the Suna Hospital.

"I'll go first with Heisa-san, is that okay with you, Kazekage-sama?" Gaara nodded.

"I think it would be better if you have some company to help you, Heisa-san. I know Ryuu-kun is dependable, but I hope that someone will be able to do the household chores. I'll be discharging you tonight, and I'm advising you that you should be on bed rest, though you may occasionally have early morning walks to exercise your extremities. Leave the cooking and the cleaning to someone else." He gave Heisa-san a smile.

"It was usually Baki who does the chores while he was here, but the incident near the border was something he felt he needed to do personally. I knew he was still on leave, but when he heard about it, he demanded to Gaara-sama that the mission be given to him." She called out for Ryuu to sit on her bed, which the boy happily obliged. "And Temari-chan here offered that I reside at the tower while I wait for him."

"That would be very nice, thank you, Temari-sama." Temari only smiled and waved her hand at the doctor, gaining her a nod from the kind man. The man adjusted his glasses, and faced Gaara. Gaara was now standing and facing him, too, as if waiting for his report.

"Gaara-sama, I am happy to inform you that your girlfriend has been successfully revived."

"She is not -" He was about to correct the man about his assumption, when he was interrupted by Temari.

"Oh, isn't that great, Gaara, your _girlfriend_ is not dead." He was appalled. Why are they not correcting Mori-sensei? Why is his brother and sister ganging up on him and allowing others to assume that Hinata was… no, Hinata is...

"And by the way, Mori-sensei, don't tell anyone about that, wouldn't want the fangirls to go berserk." Kankuro added nonchalantly, while inwardly laughing at Gaara's shocked expression. "So let's keep that a secret, okay?"

"Aah, of course, we don't want a wave of depression to come to Suna. Kami-sama knows we don't have enough antidepressants if the teenagers and aspiring mother-in-laws heard of that news. The horror of teenage hormones." Everyone laughed, aside from Gaara and the perplexed Ryuu. "I just wondered, Gaara-sama, why she has a lot of drugs in her system? It caused her lungs into respiratory depression, that's why she stopped breathing."

He cleared his throat before speaking. "She ate too much cookies, and didn't notice that the drug was introduced into them."

"A serious case of having a sweet tooth,eh? Well, we have successfully removed the drugs out of the system, while we furiously tried to revive her, had to take 10 people to get that done. And we did. It was not a pretty scene, we had to put her into tubes, we thought she would not make it. But she did! And she recovers fast enough! Just ten minutes ago, I have decided to terminate everything except her IV because she was responding well. Just prepare her some food, because she'll be very hungry when she wakes up because of that drug. " And then he gave him a fatherly smile, one that he had seen his father give to Kankuro and Temari, but never to him. "Your girlfriend sure is a tough woman. You've made an excellent choice, Gaara-sama."

"Hn." He knew it was rude not to answer the man properly, but he was still shocked why everyone kept assuming Hinata was his. One moment he was waiting for her to arrive, and now she's the girlfriend?

Trying hard to lessen the awkwardness of the whole situation, (them assuming Hinata was Gaara's girlfriend, Mori-sensei complimenting the Kazekage as if he was his son, or Gaara lost again in his sea of thoughts) Temari decided to take hold of the situation again.

"So we'll be able to get her out of here tonight?" the Medical Director nodded.

"Thank you very much, Mori-sensei." They chorused. Mori-sensei only smiled and walked out of the room.

"Good". She got out of the bed and approached her younger brother. "Kankuro, you go talk to Gaara, while I take care both of the discharge papers. I'll also help both girls to change into their clothes." She went out of the room and Kankuro looked at Gaara.

"You heard the commander. Now get up and let's get up on the hospital rooftop."

* * *

_**Suna Hospital rooftop**_

It had been 10 silent minutes in the rooftop, the cold Suna wind whipping his brother's messy red hair while he continued to look in the distance. Kankuro was silently observing him, but this contemplative mood Gaara was into will not clear things up. He was lying on the cold rooftop floor while his brother stood on the edge of the roof.

"If I'd have a single ryou for every God damn thought you have, I'd be rich by now. Stop being so secretive and say the hell whatever you want." He patted the space beside him.

Gaara sighed, and sat. He gazed at his brother and decided to follow suit. Maybe talking while lying down will be easier.

"Now you know it's not your fault for Hinata-chan to stop breathing, you can stop guilt tripping yourself. I know you have other things in your mind. Now spill." He never liked being authoritative with his brother, but hey, the guy really needed someone to guide him right now.

"I am currently disliking a person."

Ah, good to hear his brother is not a deaf mute anymore. "And who might it be?" Kankuro had an idea, but he wanted to hear it from him.

"Hatake Kakashi."

He rolled his eyes. _Obviously_, he thought. But he still wanted to continue coaxing every unsettling thought he had in that brain of his.

"What about him?"

Gaara incredulously looked at his brother, and he swore he had just been a recipient of his infamous death glare. "Didn't you hear what her teammates said? What _she_ said?"

"That she slept with him? That it was necessary? Seriously, bro , that's got your panties up in a bunch?"

"I don't wear panties," Gaara solemnly replied.

Kankuro snorted. "And now I wonder why I'm the one among the three of us who's called stupid. You're too serious, it's borderline becoming comical." It did not appease his brother, so he continued.

"Lighten up, dude. And don't you dare talk to Hinata-chan about that, or she may flip out. She doesn't need someone asking her about her sex life when both of them clearly do not like each other that way."

Gaara stiffened. "Tsk. Obviously by your reaction you are going to ask her, at least I have warned you. Don't come into my room when she suddenly decides to sleep in Temari's."

Gaara buried his face in his palm, and dragged it to the top of his hair. _Oh, God, he is so whipped_, Kankuro realized.

What do you think I should do?"Aah, finally, the bastard asked for some advice.

"Lighten up, dude. Hinata-chan doesn't need a gloomy companion right now. She needs someone to support her and take care of her and show her that she's important and cherished. She needs someone who opens up and is always honest with her. And like every other girl in this universe, she needs someone who is obviously HAPPY to be with her."

Gaara only remained silent.

"And I had a no-homo heart-to-heart talk with Kakashi. And I'm pretty sure he's not romantically interested in her. And never will. Ever."

"Really?"

"No shit, Sherlock. Duh. He even hurriedly went home to Konoha after you left us. Tell me, Gaara, would something a person interested in Hinata-chan do something like that? Wouldn't Kakashi wait for her to wake up to talk about something?"

He remained silent, and Kankuro could deduce that he was thinking again. At least now he wasn't too depressive. "I don't think so."

"Damn right, you possessive jealous man." He evilly smirked, because Gaara suddenly stood upright.

"I am not possessive. And I don't know what the word "Jealous" means."

He rolled his eyes, and dramatically sat up, slowly. He patted his brother's back and made a do-you-know-what-your-saying look. "Says the guy who nearly killed Kakashi with his sand." He lightly punched his brothers shoulders. "And you're pretty damn jealous because you saw how close they were and you didn't want anyone to get in between the two of you."

He stood up and looked at his brother. He remained silent to let the words sink in.

"You're jealous, bro, because you don't want to share her. And your jealous because you like her, and I think you are falling for her." He paused again, because the next words could change the game. "And the saddest part about this, loverboy , is that you're not even aware of it. Am I right or _am I right_?"

Gaara's eyes turned wide. More of shock, and hopefully realization. He really doesn't mind not sugarcoating things. He had always been brash, and as cruel as it may seems, that was what Gaara needed now.

A thousand volts worth of "Jolt of Reality".

"You're pretty much a slowpoke in the emotional department, but hey, if it makes you feel better, loverboy, they always said slow and steady wins the race. Now tell me, honestly. Do you like her or not? Because if you don't, I'll gladly introduce Hinata-chan to some of my friends at the Puppet Brigade, you know, I'm really in the mood in becoming a matchmaking guru and - "

And then suddenly Gaara grabbed the hem of his shirt, and growled menacingly.

"Don't you _dare_ do that, Kankuro, she's _mine_."

Kankuro's smug face broke into his most evil smile. Gaara paused, and realized what he just said. His brother clasped his stomach while laughing maniacally, rudely pointing at him for his admission.

Gaara stood their pouting, hands crossed on his chest, while he waited for his elder brother to stop laughing. He even theatrically wiped his tears and coughed before he spoke. "Man, that was the best rape-face I had ever seen. Have you looked at yourself at the mirror, bro? You really don't know how scary you are when you're angry. And that rape-face, that scary face could make anyone shit in their pants,my God, hahaha. And it would have been scary if it wasn't for your indirect admission for liking Hinata-chan, hahahahaha."

A few minutes later, Kankuro finally relaxed. "See? That wasn't so hard to figure out and admit openly, was it? Your one cold hearted bastard, but when you're with her, you're easier to read." He sighed, a little motivational speech may just be what Gaara needed.

"So get the hell down from your Land-of-Denial Trip, and go get that girl with everything you can. You like her, bro, and you're good with each other. You really are growing up, and I'm proud of you."

He smiled at his brother and was about to go downstairs to the ER when his brother's voice stopped him.

"Kankuro, wait… You think… you think she'll like me and open up for me?"

He turned around and faced his brother again. "As far as I know, she has started to open up to you, or were you really that blind these past few weeks?" Gaara frowned. "Christ, you really are that oblivious." He breathe the frigid Suna air, and placed his hands in his brother's shoulders.

"With the Liking-You part, you might want to up your game, because she may be sensitive to other people's feelings, but when the feelings are directed towards her, Hinata-chan is the most oblivious one here. If you start doing something, then maybe she'll realize she likes you, too."

"Now that we had finally finished this Talk-no-Jutsu brotherly version, turn that frown into a smile, or people might think you're older than me."

"Like hell." His younger brother retorded.

"That's the spirit." They started heading back to the door that lead to the stairway to get to the ER. "And what made you such an expert about these, anyway?" Kankuro opened the door and they let themselves inside.

Kankuro smirked. "Animal magnetism, baby." Gaara rolled his eyes.

"Come on, let's head downstairs and go home. Wouldn't want to let your Haha wait for her Chichi."

Gaara walked passed him and elbowed Kankuro.

Damn, the bastard could still hit pretty hard even when he's blushing.

He limply followed his younger brother, both smiling as they headed for the ER and home.

* * *

_**Somewhere in Konoha**_

"Dickless, stop invading my space."

"Naruto, stop trying to have all the place for yourself!"

"But Sakura-chan, this tent is just too small for the four of us!"

"Shut up, Naruto! the three of us here are trying to get some sleep here."

"But, Sakura-chan~!"

"Troublesome. Naruto, if you don't want to sleep inside this tent, you can go outside and sleep there and die of hypothermia in this cold night. If you stay here, you better stop complaining because we want to be there at Suna tomorrow noon."

"Tsk. Not even you, Shikamaru! I thought you were my friend!"

"I am but right now you're getting on everyone's nerves and we just all want to sleep. As the team leader in this mission, I order you all to shut up and rest. No buts, especially from you, Naruto."

He grumbled and complained, and the four of them settled on their space.

Five minutes later, Naruto was the first one to fall asleep.

* * *

A/N

Gaara's night isn't over. I had to cut it down there, because i want it in the next chapter with Hinata.

how do you feel at the OC Ryuu?

And what about Team 7 and Shikamaru?

Your thoughts about the chapter?

Please review. thank you


	20. Chapter 20

A/N

Hello, everyone…

Sorry for the long wait… my head is a mess this week… one word : insomnia. The Lord said to Love thy neighbors. Currently I'm not, when he's been holding parties when his parents are away and I'm a light sleeper, so yeah. I'm bound to get crazy one of these days.

I am uploading two chapters now. this is longer and the next is very short.

This chapter and the next, ugh, I had three plots in my head by Wednesday… and I think what i have are the best options for these two.

This was supposed to be only 1 chapter. But it was just too darn long. so I broke it down in two... I hope the results will turn out okay.

Thanks for following: KiraChan44 , Heartz of Darkness

Thanks for adding this to your favorites: KiraChan44

HinatamaniacXD – wow :o so that's what happened to the Fanfic views. Lol. You're very dedicated to this, thank you so much J yes, unfortunately.. and I'm happy you like you… I hope you'll like this too.

genotype – same here, the first pairing I loved was GaaHina. Other pairings that I liked just followed after that. Lol. There will be Gaahina of course ;) I hope you'll love this chapter and the next… Thank you for always coming back J

sweetgirl929 – there'll be no Sakura-Hinata in this one. But there'll be, in future chapters. ;) I hope you'll still enjoy this too. Thank you for the reviews, really appreciate them…

sailorangelmoon1 – wow, thanks.. reviews make me happy… there'll be sakura-hinata interactions in future chapters, this is sorta the intro for the series of chapters that I plan on making… hehe. Thanks again :)

KiraChan44 – thanks :D unfortunately, these chapters are unbetaed. My nerves are acting up again… sighs… I hope the English in this chapter is better… lol, yes, there'll be…

Veraozao – thanks :D appreciated the reviews…

I wish I can get that 100th review with this chapter. Lol. Wishful thinking… (sighs)

This chapter will also be the start of a series of chapters. "The Longest Day", because of a lot of events.

This is still unbetaed. I have already finished the chapter, and my brain won't let me sleep if I can't upload this T.T I guess that's just how my body works. T.T really sorry for the grammatical errors. Sorry KiraChan44 I just can't help it. T.T If the English still sucks, i'll find some way.

I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and the next. So lengthy. 33 pages in MS Word. Lol

… There goes my messy brain 't even properly close an A/N. K SMH.

Hope I can sleep after this is uploaded.

**Please don't forget to review! :D! Thank you!**

Happy Easter.

_italic = thoughts_

Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto.

* * *

_**The Longest Day: 2 AM, Gaara and Hinata's room**_

He was not the type to bring his work to his bedroom, but there is always a time for firsts.

Gaara held a pen in his right hand. The study lamp carefully placed on his right side illuminated his coffee table, carefully adjusted to his liking. He was 6 feet away from their bed, near enough for him to observe her and far enough so as not to disturb Hinata's slumber. He had even left the door room ajar, so he can go in and out of the room without having to yank the door open everytime he had to go to his office.

He had pondered on what Kankuro said for the last 20 minutes.

He also needed time to make an excellent excuse on why his clone burned all of Kakashi and Tenzou's clothes. Hyuugas were all-seing shinobis, not to mention a simple spike in his chakra would alert Hinata that something was wrong. While they were in the hospital, he had sent the clone before he had a talk with his brother, and he could honestly say that it was a "spur-of-the-moment" decision. Careless, he knew, but at that moment he was vulnerable and his emotions overwhelmed his logic. Those shirts only reminded him of his roommate's intimate past with the Hatake, and well, Yamato's clothes were collateral damage. Just thinking of her wearing those troublesome pieces of clothing irked him. From now on the only clothes he wanted her to wear, if she really wanted to wear men's shirts, were those that came from _his_ closet. Actually, anything Gaara-oriented worn on any part of her body's fine. As long as it's his, and only his, nothing in their world could ever go wrong.

He sighed. Guessed he would have to settle for termite infestation then.

Soft footfalls could be heard outside his room, followed by two small knocks. Who could be awake at this ungodly hour?

A small head could be seen peaking at the door. Gaara paused and darted his gaze to the door.

"Chichi, can I come in?"

Ryuu. In a pair of blue pajamas with teddy bear patterns, shyly came in to his room with Mr. Teddy.

This child. This joyful, exuberant child who radiated of happiness and all sunny places. This was Baki-sensei's son. Everything about him screamed of normalcy. Baki-sensei was an intimidating force to be reckoned with. And yet he was able to become a husband, a father and rear up a child who Gaara considered to be anything contradictory of Baki-sensei. If his sensei was able to take care of a wife and a loving son, even with his monstrously harsh shinobi life, would a Kazekage like him be able to do that too? Would he be able to provide a normal childhood for his children? **But the question is, would he be able to find a wife **_**willing**_** to be with him, and would be happy to be with him?**

A tug at his boxers reverted him to reality. Yep, he was only wearing a thin shirt and boxers while working. It's their bedroom anyway.

"Chichi, are you okay?"

"Hm. What is it?"

The boy scrunched his face and held his tummy. "I'm hungry, Chichi. I don't know where the kitchen is." He hugged Mr. Teddy tightly while he waited for his Chichi's response.

"I don't know how to cook." He sincerely answered the child. He stared at him. He doesn't know what made it easy for him to talk to Ryuu, but somehow, the child had a pull on people. Maybe because he was so pure and innocent, that it is hard for people not to like him.

"I can cook!" He raised his hand as if answering a teacher in the academy. He sort of shouted that part, and Hinata moaned and shifted sideways. She now faced the side where both of them could see her, the light from Gaara's study lamp illuminated her soft maskless features. Her movement caught both of their attention.

The boy gasped and climbed unto his lap, for the second time since they met. Mr. Teddy was forgotten on the floor. Gaara really should get used to all of this child's antics. The child was not afraid of him. People revered of him, awed at him, but he knew that some are still hesitant to approach him. Ryuu was not. He openly gave, he openly offered. This child was a giver, who doesn't expect anything while freely giving everything.

Just like the woman who slept on his bed right now.

And maybe that's the reason why he liked the child.

Ryuu slowly shifted his position in Gaara's lap, cupped his hands, and placed them in Gaara's right ear. "Is that my Haha?" he whispered.

Gaara was amused. Was this something normal kids do? He leaned to Ryuu's ear, and whispered in return. "Yes."

Said kid placed his hands and covered his mouth, and Gaara couldn't believe how wide the boy's eyes had become, almost as big as saucers. He looked at from his Chichi and Haha, pouting at something. He whispered again his request to Gaara. "Can we come closer? I wanna see her, please, Chichi."

There had been a chair placed on his bedside table on the side Hinata slept. He leaned down again for the child to hear. "We have to be quiet." It was humorous to see the child's head bob up and down, and Ryuu even dared to place his small index finger on Gaara's lips, as if he's the one making the noises.

He carried the child, while Ryuu's puny arms were firmly wrapped around the adult's neck. He silently placed himself at the chair, Ryuu slid himself away from him, and leaned on the bed to get a closer look at Hinata. Ryuu was closely observing her.

Never taking his eyes away from her, he tugged Gaara's boxers again. Gaara leaned forward, and Ryuu whispered something he had also consciously noted ever since they had returned from the hospital.

"She's beautiful even when she sleeps, Chichi." The child tenderly caressed a stray lock of hair from the lovely kunoichi.

"Hn. She is."

"When is she going to wake up? I wanna talk to her."

"When she gets hungry."

He nodded his head.

Gaara needed to do something before they head to the kitchen so the boy can do the cooking. "Give me 5 minutes, I need to do something. You stay here and guard her". Ryuu made a mock salute and leaned again closer to the bed, happily gazing at the sleeping woman.

Five minutes later, they both headed to the kitchen; the Kazekage held hands with a giddy Ryu. Mr. Teddy was being dragged behind because he was "too sleepy to properly walk".

Both were still in their sleeping attires.

* * *

_**The Longest Day: 3AM**_

Her angry stomach disturbed her slumber, and Hinata groaned. She had never felt this hungry before. She tried to recollect what happened after she and Tenzou decided to eat the cookies. Nothing.

What is going on? Is she still in the Land of Tea? Where are her teammates? And why does this bed smell and feel familiar?

She had opened her eyes, and the soft light from her right invaded her optic nerves. Urgh. For a few minutes she tried to adjust her vision from the semi-darkness.

This was Gaara's room. **_Their room_****.**

She's in Suna now.

The loud borborygmi by her gastrointestinal tract signaled her to get out of bed and do something, anything to alleviate her famished stomach. She felt sticky everywhere, from the tips of her hair to her small toes. Disgusted with herself, she went into the estranged coffee table with the study lamp. There were four notes left in there, each of them numbered. Gaara's elegant handwriting made her lips quirk upwards.

(1) **_Wear me_**. Underneath the sticky note, were Gaara's favorite red shirt and trademark silky dark blue boxers. There was also Gaara's favorite towel and her mask. She stripped naked and dried herself with the towel. No point wearing any underwear. Two days after becoming his roommate, she found out that his shirts and boxers were more comfortable than her pajamas, and since then she had been wearing his clothes when she slept. He didn't seem to mind. The Hyuuga donned the shirt, boxers and mask, and read the next note.

(2) **_Take me_**. Her pill, the one she always took to camouflage her natural lavender eyes. The glass of prepared with the pill was easily emptied.

(3) **_Use me_**. Now she was really amused. Did Gaara rummage through her pack to look for her comb? Kami-sama, she would look like a monster if her roommate did not think about the comb. _He really is very thoughtful_, the thought made her smile, while she arranged her tresses to become presentable.

(4) **_Find me_****. ****_Kitchen. _**It simply said.

Giddy with the thought of seeing him again, and the fact that she was very very hungry and about to attack the kitchen, she speedily went to his direction. She wanted to surprise him, but when she carefully entered the kitchen (door was widely opened), she was the one who got a surprise.

Two persons were crouched and were patiently looking at the cooking range's oven, their backs facing her. One was obviously Gaara, in his shirt and boxers. The other was a boy, about six years old, holding a teddy bear and a toothpick in his cute blue pajamas. The room filled with the aroma of chocolate cake, and by the look and smell of it, it was nearly done.

"Here, Chichi. Please poke this in the cake, okaa-san does that all the time. She said, you poke it there, so that we will know if it is baked or not." He handed the toothpick to Gaara, both still not facing her and acknowledging her presence. Both boys are still too engrossed in their work, and she gladly watched over their interaction.

Gaara opened the oven and poked the toothpick into the cake. He pulled it out again, and handed it to Ryuu.

"It's perfect, Chichi! I'll wait for Haha so we can all eat it!" He threw the toothpick nonchalantly, jumped on Gaara and hugged him. Both fell on the kitchen floor. Hinata went over to their sprawled forms.

"Are you two alright?"

"Haha! You're awake!" Haha? Who is this boy?

"Ryuu-kun, meet Tori-san. Tori-san, meet Ryuu-kun, Baki-sensei's son. He and his mother will be staying with us while sensei is away."

She knelt down and met the boy in his eye level. "Nice to meet you, Ryuu-kun."

"Nice to finally see you awake, Haha." He approached her and kissed her cheek. "And both of you can call me Ryuu-chan." He pulled her hand. "Here, Chichi and I made cake. Chichi and I made it for you, Haha… because you were sick and… because you're his wifey." He was talking so fast due to his excitement. He chuckled and shyly pointed at the oven.

"Oh." That was all she could muster. She couldn't look at Gaara's face. Her blush traveled from her cheeks down to her neck. If she had looked at her roommate, she would have seen his cheeks were slightly tinted red too.

Now wasn't the time to satisfy the curiosity; this was the time to attend to her empty GI. Hinata grabbed the gloves and took out the cake.

"Thank you. That's very nice of you." She placed the cake on the table, and the two guys followed her. Gaara got Ryuu by his armpits and placed him on the chair. It was obvious that Ryuu was excited, even though it was past his bed time. He had finally seen his Haha. He liked her hair, her smile, her voice, and even though she wore a mask to cover her injured forehead and her eyes were dark, she still looked beautiful.

She looked at Gaara. Seeing him like that, she could not suppress a laugh.

Both boys were looking at her like she was some kind of foreign body. She grabbed a napkin on the kitchen counter, lightly wet it with water, and started to softly dab them on Gaara's face. "You've got flour in your face." He winced, and that's when she noticed the bruises.

"Gaara, what happened to you?"

"Chichi was punched by Kankuro-nii-chan and then slapped by Temari-nee-chan!"

"You were punched and slapped?" Her hands automatically lit green, and started to heal his face.

"Yeah, in the hospital, that's where we met!" And the boy happily explained every detail, from when he admitted her mother, to when the three siblings entered their room until the time when he made the cake with Gaara , using his sharp memory to recall a recipe he had seen his okaa-san use a hundred times. Both Gaara and Hinata were impressed.

She was handing out the cake to the three of them, when Ryuu asked her if she liked hospitals. She gave him a wan smile. It wouldn't be right to say to the kid that she feared hospitals because she was kidnapped there, so she settled to reveal her second reason why she despised them. "I don't like them because they're too white." She swallowed a large chunk of cake.

"They're too white?" His face was littered with small bits of chocolate cake.

Hinata nodded. "White walls. White curtains. White linens. White uniforms. They're too white for me, Ryuu-chan. It would have been better if everything was – uhm, multicolored. Like rainbows. I mean, the doctors would wear light blue scrub suits, nurses would wear green". She kept telling him about her dream hospital, going on and on about improved services especially in maternal and child care. "The wall color will be different for every ward, and I will really make sure that the place where the sick kids are, there would be wall paintings of sea creatures."

"Like, octopuses, fishes, and seahorses?" His voice laced with excitement. "Like a … like a giant underwater fish tank, Haha?"

"Hhm-hmm. And there will be toys, of course."

"Did you hear that, Mr. Teddy? Haha likes a place with many toys! Just like me!" he clapped his hands at the thought.

"He's getting really dirty." Gaara stood and grabbed a napkin, and mimicked what Hinata did with him. His large hands lightly touched Ryuu's cheeks, the underside of his mouth, his jaw, his shirt, and even offered glasses of water for the child to drink. Ryuu joyously allowed him to do whatever he wanted. He had finally done cleaning the kit, when Ryuu started to yawn.

He opened his arms again. "Chichi, I'm sleepy." Gaara carefully gathered him in his arms again. The kid's head found its way on the ex-jinchuuriki's broad shoulders, his arms dangled on his sides, though his hold on Mr. Teddy was still strong. The Kazekage massaged Ryuu's back, drawing circles while the kid's eyes started to droop. Few minutes later, he had gone to a deep slumber.

_Lub dup. lub dup. lub dup_. Her heart just went from 60 to possibly 200 beats per minute . Hinata watched as the whole scene unfold. She had never seen Gaara interact with children before, much less allow them to fall asleep in his shoulders. Her heart suddenly skipped a beat, her hearstrings tugged, while she felt her stomach did a backflip. She observed his face, the softening of his eyes, the slightest upward tug of his lips, the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest that synchronized with Ryuu's. Her heart went out of the window at the overall relaxed ambiance this man had suddenly conjured with this kid.

People may think he was a homicidal maniac, but deep inside, Gaara's still a man longing for companionship and acceptance. She felt lightheaded, but forced herself to follow them outside the kitchen. He had grabbed her hand as they walked silently towards the boy's room. She suddenly felt giddy. Three days without their usual activities and their night walks, and she had already missed this.

She had missed him.

They went to Ryuu's room. His mother was sleeping on the other side of the bed. She got some blankets in the bureau, while he placed the child in bed. Hinata carefully draped the blanket above Ryuu's sleeping form. Before she can get a hold of herself, she placed a soft kiss on the child's forehead. "Sleepwell, Ryuu-chan."

They both went outside the room, still holding hands. Her other hand was above her heart. Being with Gaara and Ryuu-chan made her feel sinfully happy.

If this wasn't it, it didn't matter – this made her really happy. This experience made her feel light, made her feel contented, made her want to grab Gaara and hug him tightly and whisper thank you's in his ear.

So this is what it would feel like if she were to have her own family. If she was only fertile. If she was only able to have a baby.

A thousand times, she wished she was. Her status today had made it an impossible feat. It would be nice, if she can find a decent man. Even sterile ANBU women can be infected with wishful thinking. **But the question is, would she be able to find a husband **_**willing**_** to be with her, and would be happy to be with her, even with her past and sterility?**

Gaara yanked her when they exited Ryuu's room, making her shuffle her steps faster. He led them to their room and locked it. He was still holding her hand, when he forcefully tossed her on the bed. Hinata was stunned. Gaara was fast. He pushed her on the bed, and climbed on top of her. He imprisoned her by locking her wrists with his left hand. He nudged her legs with his knees, separating her thighs widely. He was on all fours now. He lifted her chin with his other hand, and held her gaze. It was too intense, too angry - so she focused lower – on his chest.

His broad chest heaved; their harsh breaths invaded the confined space their bodies made. If Hinata could properly sweat, she would have made a pint of perspiration by now. All those times sleeping beside him, this never happened. Of course they had hugged, held hands, embraced each other, but this? The nearness of his face above her only made her self-conscious.

Crap.

The position of her hands strained her shirt, making her chest and her pert nipples prominent. It also didn't help that it hiked higher, revealing her flat stomach. The boxer shorts she wore, with her legs spread apart, climbed higher and higher, a few inches below her crotch. She tried to control her breathing, but her throat was dry and she gulped many times. Her pulse rate skyrocketed to 300 beats per minute. The heat from the proximity of Gaara's warm body and her blushing made her feel dizzy.

Gaara could easily give her a cardiac arrest. Right now.

Hinata was stunned. What the hell is he doing? Does he know what kind of position this was? How sexual this looked like?

_This really isn't the time to get aroused, _she scolded herself_._

She closed her eyes. _Oh, God, Gaara, please don't rape me_.

She suddenly felt his hands climb to hers. He slowly intertwined their fingers. He lowered himself, and anchored his elbows to the bed. He kissed her forehead, and placed his forehead above hers. Their noses touched. His warm breath hovered over hers. Hinata and Gaara closed their eyes.

"Don't you dare do that to me again." His voice quivered, as he clasped and unclasped her hands while he tried to normalize his breathing. "Don't ever scare me like that, ever again. Promise me."

She was clueless by what he meant, so she remained silent. "Don't go out on missions, eat some drugged cookies, come home wasted, and die in my arms while I give you a cold shower. Don't do that ever again."

He released her hands, and snaked both of his large hands into her armpits. He anchored his fingers to her shoulders and scooped her closer. Gaara repositioned his head, his right ear placed above her heart. His eyes were still closed, while his knees relaxed. He was now lying on top of her.

He smelled of pine and sandalwood.

"I've already lost an important woman in my life, I don't want to lose you too. So don't leave me, Hinata-chan."

She choked on her saliva, speechless at what he revealed.

Her upper extremities instinctively latched on his back. She gently kissed his hair. "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry. " God, what an idiot she was. She could have died in that mission because of her stupid gluttony. What had she done? "Gaara, I'm so sorry."

He was thinking, she surmised. She stroked his shoulders, kneading them to relax his strained muscles. Long, silent minutes later, he nodded. He got up and lied on his side of the bed, his back facing her.

_Maybe he's not ready to forgive me._

Complete silence ensued. She reached out her hand, but decided that if he wanted some time for himself, she would respect that. Crestfallen, she lied sideways, near the edge of the bed. They used to sleep facing each other. Now they are a few feet apart.

Minutes later, a hand snaked to her waist and pulled her into something hard- his chest. Gaara's chin settled on her shoulder. He encapsulated both of them with a warm blanket.

"It's cold. Don't go further away or you'll fall out of bed."

Hearing his voice in a gentle and reassuring tone calmed her nerves. "Thank you."

"Hn."

Lost for words to say to the man, she glided her hand above his. "Tadaima***… Gaara".

She could feel him smile at her small gesture. He drew her closer, his chin nuzzling her neck. She giggled at his childishness. "Okaeri-nasai***… my hime."

It was the first time she had heard him call her that.

To say the least, it didn't bother her. It made her even grateful of him.

Both smiled and embraced the wonders of sleep.

Sand flew out from his gourd, and turned off the light from the table.

Everything was in its place again.

* * *

*** - Tadaima (I'm home) and Okaeri nasai (Welcome back)

* * *

_**The Longest Day: 5:30 AM, Kankuro's room**_

"Why do these things keep happening?"

"Beats me, bro." Kankuro shook his head. "This is one serious cockblocker."

Baki-sensei's letter in Kankuro's hands just gave Gaara a serious migraine.

The Annual Suna Festival was to be held tonight, a celebration of the Shodai Kazekage's establishment of Sunagakure no Sato. Like every other village's festival, merriment was to be expected. Food stands, parades, game booths would litter the streets of Central Suna. Civilians and shinobis alike wore their yukatas and hakamas.

For Temari, it was her "Event of the Year" as the overall organizer. From booth arrangements, decorations, programs, especially the "Spar-With-a-Shinobi-Impromptu Challenge" event, wherein three shinobis can publicly dare any person to spar with them right then and there. It was the highlight of the festival, though killing each other is a definite no-no. And challenging Gaara is an exception too.

For Gaara, it was the time when he will be smothered with gifts, ranging from a compilation of drawings from 6-year-old academy students to a bulky package containing the best silk and diamonds from Suna's businessmen. He personally loathed the unperturbed will of some of his fangirls to ambush him and torture him to listen to their confessions. He had always politely refused them, explained to them that he did not look at them that way. At least the letters were easier to burn, and the chocolates were left for Temari to snack on.

For Kankuro, it was for the three B's – booze, bloodbath (the impromptu challenge), and a broken heart. Every single fucking year ever since he had liked her, he had tried to confess to Sari-chan, only for other men to overtake him and make their moves. But Sari-chan was a fangirl of Gaara's, so he had to see her politely break those men's hearts, and pine for his brother like the rest of his fan club. Ah, what a masochist he must be. He shrugged. Now that he is a part of the "Lolita and the Three Pedo Bears" ANBU team, being a masochist wasn't such a big deal. His teammates have bigger problems than he does.

He had dreamed of this festival last night. When Gaara makes his entrance to the festival, he's sure his brother will not come alone. Whether he will hold hands with Hinata-chan or not, the fact that Gaara's seen with another woman, that will be enough to drive those hoards of hormonal and hungry women away.

In his mind (and he hoped in Gaara's, too), the Kazekage has unofficially been stamped "TAKEN".

Those women whose world will come crashing down at the sight of a clueless Hinata-chan will suddenly have a finding-a-man frenzy. And if that happens, his broad arms, shoulders and his big heart will gladly open for Sari-chan to come and bury her chestnut-colored tresses into his accommodating chest. He'll be Sari-chan's knight in shining armor, and everything in Suna will become ponies, rainbows and periwinkle fairy dusts.

Fuck. That. Shit.

The best part of a fantasy is the probability that it might come true. The contents of the letter Baki-sensei had sent via messenger bird was a certified cockblocker, and an unexpected asspull from Godaime Tsunade.

It had deflated his member even before it stirred.

His day just sucked. But Gaara's just became horrendously tragic.

* * *

_Dear Gaara-sama,_

_We had accomplished 60-70% of our mission here in the Suna-Konoha borders. Hopefully by tomorrow morning, we would be able to come back to the tower so I can hand down my report. I am very pleased to report that everyone in my platoon is alive._

_On another light, Gaara-sama, I would like to humbly request that someone be assigned to my house 24/7, to kindly guard my Heisa and Ryuu, and some of our personal documents in our home. I should have asked this sooner. I had a dream last night that involved them, and to say the least, it wasn't pleasant. I would gladly pay the shinobis as much as an A-ranked mission costs, all for the safety of my family._

_Ten minutes ago, my platoon met with Nara Shikamaru, the Ambassador of Konoha for Suna, and Team 7 (minus their sensei). Nara-san said that annually Hokage-sama was expected to come along with her assistant as guests for the Suna festival. Due to some pressing situations in Konoha, the Hokage was forced to send the only available team to accompany Nara-san. That team is your good friend Naruto's team, Team 7._

_Your friend Naruto also added that he had to force "Tsunade-obaa-chan" to let him go to Suna, so he can enjoy the festivities with all of you. I assume he must be close to Hokage-sama, because his team was "reluctantly granted after he blackmailed her with his knowledge of her vices", as verbalized by Nara-san._

_Nara-san also said that the Hokage suspected that her letters are being monitored, thus she was unable to send you a warning. Her sincerest apologies for personally not attending this festival. For reasons involving room preparations and common courtesy, he had requested that we inform you that four shinobis from Konoha will be coming: Nara-san, Naruto, Haruno-san and that new member of Team 7 who looks like Uchiha Sasuke. _

_With the pace that they are going now, their ETA: 1200 to 1400 hours._

_We will continuously send reports for any updates._

_Sincerely yours,_

_Baki_

* * *

"This is really bad." Kankuro started.

Gaara nodded. "I am bothered by Haruno Sakura-san's presence."

Kankuro was perplexed. He was bothered, too, but did not expect that name. "Uh, why her?"

"Let's keep this a secret. I think Hinata-chan might have bad blood with Sakura-san. She mumbled in the showers something about betrayal."

"I didn't know that. But that's just the first part of the problem. Women and their catfights are messy, the ugliest form of fights ever invented. But then comes the sweetest part. We also have Naruto and Shikamaru. If Temari knows he's coming, she'll become a covert fangirl again."

Gaara stared at his brother. "What do you have against him?"

Kankuro tapped the kitchen table. "It's not that I'm against him. It's that I'm still _unsure_ of him. We know the guy is smart, Gaara. If Tem's going to be with him, how are we to know that he will remain faithful to her? The brainiac could possibly think of 200 ways to cheat with another girl and get away with it." He peeked at his brother. "I wish he has tunnel vision just like you."

"Tunnel vision?"

"Yeah, you know, like, when the apple of your eyes is only Hinata-chan, when you keep gazing at Hinata-chan when she's not looking, when you don't look at other women even if Hinata-chan isn't there, when you could only think of Hinata-chan, Hinata-chan and Hinata-chan and no one else. Even if a blonde bombshell would fall on your lap, you only had eyes for Hinata-chan. That's tunnel vision, bro."

"Oh." Gaara looked sideways and blushed. Kankuro had triumphed on making his brother queasy this early in the morning, but there are more stuffs to discuss.

"And then let's talk about Naruto."

"What about him? He is here as my friend." Gaara boredly asked.

"Tsk. We do know that Hinata-chan is over him, but Gaara, have you seen Naruto's Oiroke-no-Jutsu? The woman he transforms into has very nice assets, dude, especially on the chest area. Now who do you know here has amaaazingly pretty, perky, pudgy, pleasingly plump breasts? Hmm? Isn't that the girl who's sleeping in your room?"

Gaara suddenly remembered last night. He had an emotional breakdown. In between his rollercoaster emotional overdrive, he unconsciously rested his head over her heart to listen to her heartbeat, only to be squished and buried in her breasts. Although he realized it at a later time, that was the reason he had to separate himself and turn his back from her, because he was intensely blushing from the softness provided by her orbs. His mind instinctively went into a blizzard of thoughts about dead cats, dead bunnies and the sight of Naruto scratching his butt. It was effective. When he had finally calmed down, he saw her at the edge of the bed. That's when he closed their gaps and ended the awkwardness of his discovery.

"If I hear you speak like that again, or anything derogatory involving her body parts - even the tips of her fingernails - I will personally crush your fucking genitals with my sand, and I don't care if you see your grandchildren or not."

Kankuro backed away and raised both of his hands, appalled by the sudden threat issued by his brother. "Jeez, bro, I was just praising them, and I know you don't want to share. Hahahahaha!"

_Psychopatic, Hinata-obsessed bastard._

"Anyway, back to Naruto. He likes attractive women. And though Sakura doesn't have big breasts, she's attractive in an exotic way. Let's face it, Gaara, I've seen Hinata-chan wear her kimono, and if normal men see her like that I don't think they would have a second thought asking her out. Naruto likes to go after the things he wants. He's a healthy, virile man. Now how messy would it be if that idiot suddenly saw her and asks her to be his girlfriend? How would you deal with that, huh?"

_Now let it sink, you possessive asshole_.

Silence is bliss.

"I'll have competition."

"That's right, loverboy. And who's to say her feelings would not grow back again, hm? The seed has been planted before; it grew into a plant and somehow withered. But fate was cruel, because the plant was a fucking cactus and the desert only made it stronger. When the right time comes, with the right adaptation and with the right environment, the cactus could grow taller, stronger, and lovelier – the second time around."

"You're not making any sense." But Gaara knew it bothered him.

"Ugh, just give me my moment now, man. I'm as nerfed as you are with this situation. Let me be poetic just this once."

"It's not a poem, stupid." He snapped, getting angrier with this situation. Just when he thought he could spend his day with Hinata-chan, Konoha comes along. "And you seriously think this scenario is possible?"

"Yep. And there's also the third member of Team 7, we don't have intel on him. We need to find a way, fast. We don't want Hinata-chan and Temari around those men. Get them as far as 900 meters away from this tower."

"Why 900 meters?"

"I've read in Konoha's databook in my last mission, Hyuuga Neji's byakugan range is 800 meters**, let's adjust a hundred more, maybe Hinata-chan's vision doesn't reach here. Though I don't know of her range, her cousin's the prodigy so I'm only basing my propositions on his stats."

"Fair enough," Gaara replied. For someone who doesn't know the difference between poems and whatnot, he knew his older brother could be quite intelligent. Maybe those times evading angry ex-girlfriends did him some good in creating his strategies.

"What are we gonna do, bro? Tem's the event organizer and ambassador to Konoha. I know she's finished everything, and ironed out the creases in this event. If we're going to have problems, there'll be minor and I know both of us can fix that. But she does have the right to escort them, you know."

Gaara was deep in thought of possible solutions for their dilemma. He opened his eyes and landed his gaze on Kankuro's hand.

"What's the distance between the tower and sensei's house?"

Kankuro scratched his chin. "Roughly 1,300 meters, why?". Gaara's tension wavered. This could work.

"I'll send them on a mission. A-rank. They are to guard sensei's family and home 24/7, they aren't allowed to roam during the festival. You'll become the temporary ambassador." He rubbed his forehead. "I'd have to pack Hinata-chan's upper garments. I burned her teammate's shirts last night."

"YOU DID WHAT?"

"I burned them. I don't want to elaborate."

"Gaara, you're insane." _Kami-sama, such a jealous man._

"I've been called a murderous psychopath before, burning shirts is the least of my sins."

Yeah, his overly jealous, crazy, stubborn little brother does have a point.

But he's still a psychopath.

Kankuro decided to concentrate on his brother's plan. "That mission could work. And knowing Temari's relationship with oba-san, she would gladly accept this. And Hinata-chan, as a medic, could watch over her condition and Ryuu-chan's welfare."

"Good, that's settled then. Give me three rolls of parchment and a pen. I need to write some letters." Kankuro went to his drawers and got what his brother needed. When he finally finished, he handed them to Kankuro.

"Give the first letter to Temari, she'll be team leader. I want both Hinata-chan and her gone in this tower by 1100 hours."

Kankuro nodded and read the second letter. "Seriously? An order for 100 pieces of your preferred brand of shirts, multicolored, and a 100 pieces of your favorite brand of boxers? 20 boxes of your perfume? Gaara, what are you going to do with them?"

"Wear them, what else? And give the rest of my shirts and boxers to her." The kage made it a point to duck his head, but Kankuro knew his younger brother was blushing.

_Conniving jerk. Haha. Stealthy, but it will work. So this is what jealousy can do to him. Hahaha. Burn those men's garments, so she will have to wear his. Okaa-san, you should really see what your youngest had become. A lovesick fool._

He looked at again at the third letter, read the recipient's name and its contents.

Dumbstruck was an understatement.

"You're the biggest fucking fool I've ever met. You really are _insane_. This.. . this is impossible."

"It _is_ probable, I only need the right men and women to do the job, and it can happen."

"With the time constraint?"

"Yes. I have faith that this will be accomplished. Get ANBU to help them."

Kankuro groaned. He really is a stubborn guy.

"Whatever floats your boat, bro." He surrendered. Might as well deliver all of this and get the job done. "Now get out of my room, I have some job to do." Gaara's sand dispersed.

"Fuck, and all the while I was talking to a clone. What do you expect, Kankuro, he might as well be lying in bed now, spooning Hinata-chan while they sleep." He chastised himself. Two weeks ago, he had caught his brother and his roommate still asleep and in that position. He chuckled and shook his head. "Guy doesn't even know what spooning is, yet he's doing it. Tsk. That Gaara."

* * *

A/N

Can i get separate reviews for this one and the next? lol. It's really up to the reader.

Thanks for reading...


	21. Chapter 21

a/n

EDIT: there were two chapters that I uploaded at the same time. If you haven't read the previous chapter, please do. thank you.

disclaimer : still don't own naruto.

* * *

_**The Longest Day: 01:30 PM, Baki, Heisa and Ryuu's house**_

"How was Heisa-oba-san's condition?"

"Placentas normal, hearbeats normal, both cephalic in position. Everything's fine, and she's a very healthy pregnant woman, so the operation will be fine. She'll undergo a scheduled C-section two or 3 weeks from now. Oba-san said that her OB is on vacation leave, that's why Mori-sensei is taking care of her now."

"Hmm, that's good to hear." Temari plopped herself on their shared king-sized bed. Both Heisa-san and Ryuu were sleeping on the other room. She huffed. "Though I so wanted to go to the festival, I believe Heisa-oba-san's health comes first. I'm just happy it's you I'm with instead of Kankuro, or I'll be having a headache the moment we get here."

Hinata smiled at her. "I'm glad you're with me, too." She looked for her packs, but she couldn't find one. "Temari-chan, did you find my packs?"

"Oh, I unpacked them for you and put it in the closet." She smiled knowingly. "Ne,ne, Hinata-chan, I have to ask you something." Said girl was now lying beside her, her eyes closed.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Have you had sex with Gaara?"

Hinata sat immediately in bed, "Temari-chan! Of course we haven't."

She was so easy to tease, her face growing cherry red, Temari couldn't help but snicker. "I was just wondering that's all." She smirked. "He's single, you're single. You're his roommate. Hey, anything's possible."

She blushed a ruddy color. "I… I don't think I am girlfriend or relationship material, Temari-chan. I am not normal, and my lifestyle is different, even by shinobi standards." She inhaled deeply and continued. "My history is hazy, there are too many secrets in my life, not to mention my shady field and my infertility." She mumbled the last parts softly, Temari had to strain herself to listen to it. "No decent guy would want to be with me, he will just get hurt because my life is too complicated." She sighed, her hands clasped tight on her lap. " There's also something in my rulebook that says I can't have a boyfriend, and it was there to prevent complications."

Rank doesn't necessarily equate to self-esteem, and Hinata is proof of that. For someone so powerful, she doesn't think too high of herself. Even with her status, insecurities still plagued her.

"But now you're in the bandwagon that you are Gaara's girlfriend, because of Ryuu-chan and Heisa-oba-san. We already talked about that, right?" She nodded. Temari had carefully explained it to her. Hinata was uneasy of the idea at first, but when she saw Ryuu and the child's joy whenever he mentions "Haha" and "Chichi", she just couldn't break his heart and not agree with this role play.

She smiled again, curious to the answer for the next question.

"Then if you aren't having sex with my brother, why are all your shirts his, hmm? And the boxers? They even smelled like him." She merrily teased the Hyuuga.

"He gave them to me this morning. He even packed them for me." Temari teasingly nudged her elbow at Hinata's sides. "And why is he doing this, Hinata-chan?"

"He said he was sorry that he had to burn my shirts, there was a termite infestation at the upper part of our closet where I kept my them. So he's giving me his old clothes now."

Temari frowned. "What infestation? I haven't heard about it, and I was at the tower for 3 days for the preparations."

"Really?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure there wasn't."

"Byakugan!" Hinata wanted to check if there are still termite holes in the tower, or if the said infestation was confined. Temari was still lying in bed, deep in thought of what her companion revealed to her. She facepalmed. _God, Gaara could be such a jealous freak._

"Temari-chan," Hinata growled. Wait, was that her? She had never heard Hinata's voice like that. Curious, she peeked at her, and was stunned by what she saw.

The lovable, tender eyes she used to see from the Konoha nin was now gone. Minutes ago she was just teasing her, and now... now she looked different. Maybe even without the mask, and even without the byakugan she had activated, Hinata would still look menacing.

Her breathing was uneven, her fingers shook. Her raspy intake of air reverberated throughout the room. She clasped and unclasped her hands, and Temari saw that her fingers dug into her palms. The self-inflicted injuries slowly drew out blood. Hinata hissed. Her trembling lips were anchored by her teeth, as if she was restraining herself from lashing at – anything, something.

Temari had never seen her friend look so murderous. The Suna kunoichi's erector pili muscles contracted, eliciting her hair follicles to stand on end. She shivered. She looked again at her friend, still unable to comprehend her sudden change of behavior and her involuntary shaking. She was shocked at how different this Hinata was, and her facial expression only scared her more.

She reminded her of Uchiha Sasuke.

Gorgeously lethal. Frigidly intimidating. Indubitably heartless.

Like a crow waiting for her prey.

"Y-Yes,Hinata-chan?". She gulped. Now she was the one stuttering, and her friend was on the verge of a meltdown. Hinata was rooted to her spot, and wasn't moving at all.

"Did you know that there are four Konoha shinobis at the Kazekage tower right now?" her icy voice lowered to an octave. Temari was astonished, and looked up wide eyed at her. Hinata was sporting a sadistic smile.

Such a foreign expression that disfigured her gentle features.

It made her look more formidable.

"Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, Nara Shikamaru and another guy are currently being housed in your home. Did you know that, or were you as blindsided as me? Because from what I see now, Kankuro and Gaara knew beforehand that they were coming."

Temari's anger rose. "No." She snaked her hands to her hair.

Hinata continued to give her a sadistic smile, "Then maybe Konoha shinobis were the reason we were placed in this mission to get us away from them."

"Fuck!" she fumed. God, those jerks are meddlesome. What are they trying to pull? She closed her eyes and focused. She was irked that Hinata was not saying something, but she needed time to regroup her thoughts. Few minutes later, she spoke.

"They're trying to separate us from Shika and Naruto." She got up and started pacing along the room and looked at her once again.

Hinata stripped until her lacy bra and panties were the only garments left. "Hmm, they were wrong. I'm not bothered by those two, I don't have business with them; Shikamaru-kun was actually my friend." She massaged her hair. "But men will never be able to understand how the female mind works. And your brothers should stay away from _this_ business if they don't want to get hurt. Meddling into the issues of the female specie will do them nothing."

She digested her friend's words and actions, while Hinata headed to their sensei's huge bathroom.

"There wasn't really an infestation, was there?"

"No, and the fucking bastards were making an excuse after another."

Hinata glided her fingers to her hair, frustrated at Gaara's deception. "I don't get what he's doing. Those were Kakashi and Tenzou's. The reason I wear them is because they're comfortable and make me feel at home. Why did he burn them?" She was headed to the door when Temari held her by the elbow.

"Where are you going, Hinata-chan?" She was troubled by this turnout of events, and she didn't want to leave the younger nin behind. Hinata was not the type she would categorize as suicidal, but as a precaution, she didn't want to leave the young woman alone.

"Bathroom. I need to do something."

"I'm coming with you. I'm not leaving you alone."

She blinked at Temari, her eyes laced with frigidity. "Very well. But there really isn't anything worth watching."

Strange things would not waiver her resolve. Damn it, if this could keep her friend safe, she'll just have to go with the flow.

"Your brothers are jerks." She entered the bathroom, and Temari followed. "They thought that Neji-nii-san's range of 800 meters is the longest range. They approximated this house's distance from the tower. But they failed. " She continued to smile, that disturbing smile that perturbed Temari's guts. "They don't know mine can reach up to 10 kilometers." She snorted while locking the door. "Amateurs."

"You may want to sit down, Temari-chan." So she sat at the stool near the door.

Hinata positioned herself at the center and closed her eyes. "This is an offensive/defensive technique, Temari-chan. Tenzou and Kakashi had been using different hand seals to imprison me … whenever I overkill, sleepwalk, and get carried away because they know that water calms me…. But now … Now I'm going to use different hand seals to imprison myself. " She glanced at Temari. "I'm using this, because I'm afraid I may not be able to control myself. When I'm extremely mad, I lose all rationality… I'm really trying to contain my shock… I need time to relax so I can have a clear head.. . And most of all, I don't want to harm you, oba-san and Ryuu-chan." She raised her chin, closed her eyes and allowed her midnight tresses to dip lower. "If things could have been easier, I would gladly finish things of. But really, I don't want to become a missing nin by killing a fellow shinobi without providing the Hokage substantial proof, so I'm not allowed to kill he-_.._." she scrunched up her face, as if in pain, but didn't continue.

She faced Temari again, who was obviously worried about her ramblings. Her eyes drooped.

"Temari-chan, I'm going to train and release chakra in my tenketsus. I'm going to tire myself…. because I may not be able to hold myself and go on a rampage and kill your brothers. Please, I beg you, try to find me some clothes, because I'm not wearing anything that belongs to your brother." It was stated in a monotone, but the effect was instantaneous.

Scary.

**_Snake. Ox. _And then Hinata clapped her hands.**

"Suiton: Suiro no Jutsu" (Suiton: Water Prison Technique)

The ANBU nin took a deep breath, and a jet of water came out from her mouth. The water gradually increased in volume, and encapsulated her in a big water bubble.

She started her Jyuuken stance, and gradually released chakra.

It takes great strength to charge at the enemy, but it takes greater will and strength of character to control and restrain oneself.

_She imprisons herself to contain her shock and anger at this situation_? Other people would meditate and train outside, a training ground is out of the question now, they're in a mission. She loved meditating with Gaara, so this issue must be very devastating for her if she would prefer to do this. Add insult to injury, her brothers may have indirectly undermined her skill with the byakugan's range. Her stupid brother even burned the shirts she treasured the most. _Termite infestation, my ass._

_Gaara, you're love life just crashed before it had the chance to take off. You pissed the wrong girl, baby brother._

Temari's heart broke at her friend's vulnerability and her tumultuous struggle with her emotions. Her stupid brothers even contributed to this.. this.. this maltreatment. Hinata was like her sister, the only other sane person in her Goddamn house, the one who unconsciously put a leash at her baby brother (Gaara) and the one who befriended her perverted brother (Kankuro) when everyone thought he was hopeless because he was too much of a horndog. And now those jerks did something stupid and hurt her? Shame on them.

She wouldn't let Hinata feel alone in her water bubble. She would think of ways to get even.

She would not come out of this bathroom until Hinata's done coping with whatever she's going through.

Now she needed to think. Needed to comprehend Hinata's statements.

"_But men will never be able to understand how the female mind works. And your brothers should stay away from this business if they don't want to get hurt. Meddling into the issues of the female specie will do them nothing."_

"_If things could have been easier, I would gladly finish things of. But really, I don't want to become a missing nin by killing a fellow shinobi without providing the Hokage substantial proof, so I'm not allowed to kill he-"_

_HER_.

Temari's eyes snapped open. Hinata's emotional turmoil was because of her brothers and _her_.

There was only one female among those mentioned.

_Haruno Sakura._

But what kind of things would come between Hinata and Sakura?

_Boys? _Hinata was in love with Naruto, Sakura was – no, is – still in love with Sasuke. So that is out of the list.

_Grades?_ Too shallow. Hinata wasn't a fickle to compete with grades.

_Betrayal of Trust?_ She didn't know where that came from. She suddenly spoke.

"Did Sakura betray you?"

Hinata's head snapped at her.

"Did she betray your trust and put you in this situation?"

Hinata looked sideways, and Temari feared she would not be able to know what the truth is.

Tears rolled from the younger kunoichi's heart-shaped face, and that was all Temari needed.

_Haruno Sakura betrayed Hyuuga Hinata. Big time._

"God, Hinata-chan." She was rooted to the stool, a series of emotions invaded her being.

The jets of fluid that came out of Hinata's water bubble were shooting from every direction, each jet stronger than the previous.

A reflection of her frustrations and surges of anger ; it also served as training.

Hitting two birds with one stone.

She stood up. She just had an idea.

* * *

_**The Longest Day: 2:10 PM**_

"Temari-chan, where are you dragging me?"

"We're going shopping."

"I want a proper dress."

"Yeah, Heisa-oba-san's maternity dress may suit your boobs, but your other curves aren't obvious enough." She stopped and looked at her lovely companion. "Now that you are in control of your emotions and calm again, you don't need to be afraid of Sakura."

Hinata paused. "Who said I was afraid of Sakura?"

Temari smirked. "So you aren't afraid of her?"

Hinata was certainly full of surprises today. When she went into the bathroom, she was seething with rage. When she went out of it, she was exhausted, but Temari was able to discern that her chakra, muscles and facial expressions were a lot calmer.

Straighter gait. Thoughtful, knowing looks. A pensive, unreadable face.

She emulated someone akin to a military tactician.

Confident. Cool. Cunning.

She looked like a perfect Hyuuga.

Then Hinata smiled knowingly. "What's there to be afraid of?"

They had left their clones and Hinata's messenger crows to guard Heisa-oba-san's house.

"That's my girl." Temari confidently strode next to her.

Their target: Central Suna Market.

At that same time, a young man was slowly sneaking his way out of the Kazekage Tower. He was instructed by the Suna Leader not to go out until the festival. The banquet prepared to them didn't serve ramen, and the guy was starving for some.

He made sure to leave a few clones to play cards in his room. That way, everyone in the tower would think he was just playing against himself # 1, himself #2, and all the other Naruto clones involved.

He snickered. So far no one was able to detect him. Gamakichi and Gamatatsu were safely tucked in his pockets, summons who decided to accompany him and transform into smaller toads. One was too bored to play with his brother, the other too hungry to care.

He rubbed his hands in excitement. It was fun loitering around Konoha. Now would be the perfect time to discover Central Suna Market.

Uzumaki Naruto, Gamatatsu and Gamakichi would be partners in crime in sneaking fifty – no, a hundred ramen cup noodles into the overly boring kitchen cupboards of Sabaku no Gaara.

Let the discovery begin.

* * *

A/N

Neji and Hinata's Byakugan range are canon.

i love easter. Easter eggs sure inspire you to write two chapters in one sitting. lol

Read and review, please, thanks! :D


	22. Chapter 22

A/N

Ever since the previous chapters, Hinata's age was adjusted to 17. Even though we know that the start of the Shippuden series was 16, I'll settle for 17.

17 years old : Hinata, Gaara, Naruto, Shikamaru

18 years old : Kankuro, Sai

19 years old: Temari

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Thank you ShadowWalker NightCrawler2 and KaGupi23 for adding this to the favorites.

Thank you Kurokis and KaGupi23 for adding to your story alert lists.

KiraChan44 – aah, the third letter :D and we will find out about them, soon. :D And thanks for becoming my beta reader! Glad you're looking forward to reading it! Xoxo

Sunny – Thanks! Hmm, We'll see I Hope you'll enjoy this one, too.

HinatamaniacXD - :D I think you're gonna like this one… hello, fellow insomniac *waves hands* thanks for the reviews!

genotype – thank you, that's very kind of you! and yes, I did reach 100 reviews! Haha! Thanks to everyone who commented!

Veraozao – thank you so much :D

RiverWing21287 – hope you'll like this one ! :D thanks for the review

sailorangelmoon1 - :D thank you! I'm happy you enjoyed it too! Haha. Would be looking forward for everyone's reactions with this chapter… thanks, hope you had a nice Easter celebration.

sweetgirl929 – arigatou! :D hmmm, You'll see :D

WHITElady043 – wow, hello! :D thank you for leaving so many comments! :D it's nice to know people love to read the story… hmm, the pudding to poop comment, was back in my college days, my professor who was a lawyer liked to say things like that… I was more interested with his side comments regarding things that happen in court than his actual lecture. Lol. Thank you, my uncle's doing fine… And yeah, I like these kinds of humor, but we really can't please anybody… I have plans for Danzo… but they still aren't concrete… and thank you, I like Ryuu too. I've always envisioned Gaara as something like that. Lol. He was the original psychopath in the series, even before Sasuke or Itachi came or Oro came..

The truth is, for me Kankuro is the easiest character to write in this fic, haha. His vocabulary is similar to that of my male workmates'. People do comment that working in an environment with almost 90% of the employee population as male has made my vocabulary very colorful. I used to flinch whenever I hear profanities and sex talks, but now I really don't mind them… haha… Thanks a lot for the reviews, I hope you'll like this chapter. :D

Guest – thank you! XD I could really hug you right now, I rarely receive reviews from guests! Xoxo

Vanessa – thanks! XD hope you'll like this one.

I was having fun with photoshop last Monday, and decided to put an avatar in the story and my profile. Lol. I wish I could draw, so I can have a decent picture to put there that would really fit with the story…

And sorry for the late update… something happened that kinda lessened my drive to write anything, thus the writer's block. I have the concept, but the words refuse to flow.

Shoutout to**_ KiraChan44_**, for being my beta reader \:D/

And yes, Konoha 11 still thinks Hinata is dead.

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, Tobi wouldn't be Obito. He'd still remain that cute, goofy Akatsuki member we all came to love.

* * *

**The Longest Day : Central Suna Market, 3: 30 PM**

"All this walking is making me hungry. I want a snack, bro."

"What? You'll have to wait, Gamatatsu, because our master here is stupid enough to get lost in this foreign market!"

"Shut up, you two! I'm trying to find our way here!"

"Why are you even a shinobi if you can't even remember simple directions?"

"Stop complaining and help me find a ramen stand! Where the hell is it!?" He grumbled, and stuffed his hands on his pockets. Gamatatsu and Gamakichi were perched on his shoulders, still mumbling about flies and stupidity. These summons were supposed to help him find ramen. But no, they decided to contribute to the problem. One toad kept complaining about his stomach while the other berated him for getting lost.

Naruto had been walking for almost an hour and a half, and this place named "Central Suna Market" was so big, and so crowded, he couldn't remember when and where he had been. Tsk. He knew that there will be a festival, but people from Suna do it over the top! A hell of a crowd, everyone buzzing and talking and selling and – minding their own business.

He was so busy looking up at the different names of the restaurants and food stands that he accidentally bumped into someone else.

"Watch where you're going, idiot!"

"What the he- Temari?"

It took him quite some time to recognize Gaara's sister, because well, she looked really –different.

"Whoah! Jeez, I didn't recognize you there for a sec! You look great!" He really was happy that he had met someone he knew, or he'd still be trapped in this hellhole for God-Knows-How-Long.

"Thank you! What are you doin' here?" Temari may have been two years older than him, but she was cool about hanging around with people his age. She's calm, collected, smart, and didn't treat him like shit.

"Didn't ya know? We came here 'cause Tsunade-obaa-chan can't come, and she's giddy over giving Gaara a bottle of her sake!" He wondered why she didn't know, when she was the Kazekage's older sister. Didn't Gaara and Kankuro tell her?

"No I didn't. I'm currently on a mission, babysitting someone. So why are you here in the market and not at the tower? And who are these guys with you?" Temari stood on the sidelines, so he followed suit.

"Oh, this is Gamakichi and Gamatatsu, they're my summons." He pouted and crossed his arms. "Tsch! You live here and you don't know what's wrong? It's like you're all living in a cave, 'cause you don't even have ramen! What kind of place doesn't have ramen?"

Temari laughed. "That's because we're in a desert, stupid, who would want to eat something hot in a place that's already steaming?"

"Oh, I didn't think about that." He scratched his head. "Jeez, I should've packed more."

Temari's eyes twinkled. "You know, we could go together at the grocery store to check if they have any instant ramen for sale there- "

Naruto grabbed her hand and immediately shouted. "Why didn't you say so, come on!"

Temari had to wince, Naruto's loud wails made her ears hurt. "Wait! I'm still waiting for someone!"

"Eh? But I want to eat ramen now, I can't really wait anymore!"

"Oh, trust me, she's worth the wait. She'll be here in a sec, she was just out to buy some clothes."

He'd been craving ramen ever since he had consumed his last cup last night. He really didn't like waiting 3 minutes for the instant ramen to cook, and now Temari is making him wait for another friend? He huffed. She was his only chance now, and he wanted to get on her good side. So yeah, might as well wait for this friend of hers.

After ten minutes of waiting, Temari's eyes suddenly glowed, her excitement apparent to the blonde. What is so special with this friend of hers anyway? She waved her hand, and the impatient and grumpy Naruto turned around.

"There she is! Tori-chan ,Tori-chan over here!"

* * *

**_The Longest Day: Central Suna Market, 5 PM_**

He could be lying on the bed now, thinking about fluffy clouds, clear skies and calm breezes, and burying his pineapple-shaped head in the silky bed covers of the tower's guest room. But no, not today. He had barely caught a few hours of sleep when Sakura barged into his room, shook his lean figure and demanded that they go on a search operation to find Konoha's Jinchuuriki. He had to be dragged here in Central Suna Market in the middle of the awful desert heat, because Naruto was missing.

Troublesome.

He huffed. Granted he was the team leader and was supposed to be looking after his team members, keeping Naruto in line and compliant was like trying to ask Chouji to stop eating and lose some Goddamn weight.

Finding Naruto was one hard task. But getting along with his other companions was worse.

"Where the hell is that idiot?"

Sakura was fuming on his right, talking incessantly about beating the crap out of her teammate if she ever got wind of trouble in Suna. Women. Why do they always think that everything had to be settled with fights? Can't a man have some decent conversation without the fear of being beaten up? Can't a woman just ask what she wants without having to shriek and wail and cry like toddlers? Feh. He already had Ino in his team as the alpha female, and another alpha female would surely grate on his nerves for the days to come.

"Sai, use your jutsu to find that knucklehead!"

"Even if I can, I still won't, Ugly. The number of people in this market will crush my animal paintings even before they get to where he is. And it would be unwise to create bird paintings. The Akatsuki attacked Suna using bird clay bombs. People might think they are under attack again."

The weird guy, Sai, was on Shikamaru's far right. Even with his fake, insincere smiles and quirks that screamed WEIRDO ALERT, he had proved himself to be a dependable guy, and quite smart too. Though the way he entered into Team 7 was intriguing and comical, he had made a turnaround during the new Team 7's first mission and had become a more tolerable douche.

"Relax, won't ya? Maybe the dude was just looking for some hot chicks, there's tons of them right here, and Naruto really needs to get laid – fast."

Their last companion was the man who walked beside him, Kankuro. He had an inkling that the puppet master did not like him and his laid back attitude. Some hidden animosity was certainly there, but he didn't like confrontations and dismissed the hypothesis even before he could prove it.

Ugh. These were the times when he wished Temari was here. Because she was a smart woman, a powerful kunoichi, a great companion and most of all she didn't give him unwarranted headaches.

Not to mention she was very beautiful.

"Dickless must be bad at courting women, since Ugly here hasn't decided to jump his bones and give him some."

Shikamaru's eyelid twitched. Trust Sai to make the harshest unsweetened remarks from the most ordinary situations. He didn't even have the reservations to hide his fake smile and continued walking around like he was walking in a park. The Nara could feel killing intent from Sakura, and decided to stall his footsteps to observe the three of them from behind.

Kankuro swiveled his head to Sakura. "Why haven't you? He is practically your lapdog, woman!" He cried indignantly. Shikamaru himself wondered about it, but remained impassive and observant.

Sakura straightened her gait and lifted her chin up in the air. "I have my preferences, thank you very much."

"Preferences? Like what?" Kankuro grabbed his chin and frowned.

"High standards… Very high standards." She rolled her eyes, as if to indicate her retort would end the discussion.

"Oh, I see."

There was silence for a while.

"What size do you prefer, Ugly?"

Shikamaru snorted, although it was masked by Kankuro's wolfish laugh. When men are alone, they often talk about stuff like this. He obviously knew what Sai meant. If Sakura wasn't careful, she could become the butt of jokes here.

"Excuse me?"

"I said what size do _you_ prefer. You seem to imply that Dickless is substandard, not at par with your preferences." Insert creepy smile. "Maybe you have a fetish for some pretty massive weaponry… like…" He looked around at the market. "12-inch sized eggplants? Because the last time we went into the hot springs with Yamato-daichou, I could swear Dickless' prick is only comparable to an average cucumber."

Awkward silence ensued among them. Shikamaru facepalmed. He greedily hoped no other individual had heard what they were talking about, or people would have the wrong notion that Konoha was a village full of sexually frustrated men and women.

Or that Konoha preferred doing vegetables instead of real people.

"Sai, what is _wrong_ with you?" She was both fuming and turning red. For all her intelligence, Shikamaru knew even Sakura wouldn't be able to answer either her own or Sai's question. You can't really fathom the depth of Sai's insensitivity and lack of social decorum.

Shikamaru peeked a bored glance at Sakura, and he was instantly reminded of raging bulls. Very angry raging bulls.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you liked that, I was wrong." He had pulled of an easy-breezy reply, something Shikamaru admired from the artist.

Sai certainly had balls.

"So you don't like them shiny and neat just like how Dickless has been keeping his wang? Hmmm, interesting. If you don't like them clean, you must like the opposite." He blinked. "I never thought you had a penchant for the hairy stuff, Ugly…. Say, how does a cock akin to a 1-foot long disfigured hairy rootcrop like ginger sound to you?".

Or, he may also have an emotional quotient of Negative 200. And the brain a size of a walnut.

In seconds, Sai took out a small notebook and pen and spoke while he wrote something there.

"Must take note: Ugly likes big hairy penises…. Maybe when she gives some in the future she would like to feast on gorilla salad."

One. Two. Three.

"Shannaro!"

Sai heavily landed into some of the stalls in the market. People scattered and ran away from their spot, afraid to feel the full extent of Sakura's vicious wrath. Kankuro was laughing while he trudged to where Sai was located, and assisted the pale guy.

Shikamaru mentally noted that he would have to ask the artist privately to keep his overactive imagination to his paintings and not let them stray to insults, gingers, and weird penis jokes.

And stop making sexual innuendos out of food.

"Man, you should really be careful when talking in front of the ladies, they can be very touchy about those things, you know."

Sai got up, his face bruised. "I didn't expect her to get angry over that, Horndog." He smiled and closed his eyes. "The only things Ugly gets angry about are her large forehead and her flatboard chest."

Kankuro chortled at his nickname, among other things. "And I should call you Asswipe, because you don't friggin' care what she says and 'cause you're as pale as fuckin' tissue paper."

It was disturbing how these two interacted, like they knew each other from another lifetime. What was more disturbing, Shikamaru supposed, was that Sai was equally ambivalent about the nickname.

"Repeat that again and I will crush you limb by limb!" Sakura shouted over them and crossed her arms.

The world is certainly going to the dogs.

He now decided to intervene, before this market becomes a full-fledged battlefield. "Sai, you've been reading too many of Kakashi-sensei's books."

Shikamaru knew what lead to this fiasco. Everyone who wasn't an idiot in Konoha knew of the artist's lack of emotions. Two weeks ago was Asuma-sensei's bachelor party. Before that glorious night, Sai personally approached him, Naruto and Kakashi to get some advise on what to do for the said occasion. He commented that Sai should bring Asuma-sensei some knives or weapons for gifts, Naruto recommended ramen, while Kakashi-sensei advised him to read all the volumes of the Icha Icha Series. Sai was perplexed when he wasn't allowed to purchase the books by ALL of Konoha's bookstores, so Kakashi happily gave him the complete series. He also gave Sai an ultimatum to memorize the series, which the clueless nin religiously followed.

Shikamaru sighed. Blame it on the Hatake and his Icha-Icha books.

"Finally Dickless has arrived."

They all stared at where Sai was looking at.

"Oi, Naruto!" Sakura shouted and waved her hand, but her shout only fell on deaf ears.

Because Naruto was busy carrying paper bags, and talking jovially with a pretty woman.

When he looked closely, realization hit him and his jaw dropped.

Naruto was walking with Temari.

A very different Temari.

Her usual four-ponytail hairdo was replaced with an unfussy French twist. He loved that she left face-framing pieces of her blonde hair to fall on the sides, which made her face look soft and dramatic instead of uptight. The diamond-shaped earrings dangled in her ears, and her cherry lips were covered with pink lip gloss.

She was wearing a black daydress. The cowl neckline exemplified her elegant collarbone and her shapely breasts, the cold-shoulder detail exposed her feminine shoulders. The belted waistline emphasized her small waist. The black daydress reached mid thigh, and he was sure if he hadn't had such great restraints, he would be wouldn't be able to take his eyes off her well-formed legs. She wore flat Grecian sandals with straps that twined around her supple calves up to her shin. The look made her classy, chique, and incredibly sexy.

He didn't know what she was doing, but he certainly wasn't complaining.

Temari said something to Naruto which made the guy scratch his head and laugh. Shikamaru's observant eyes also did not escape the blush that formed on Naruto's cheeks.

"TEMARI? What are you doing here?" Her wolfish brother barked at her. Why was Kankuro angry?

Instead of responding to his brother, Temari darted her eyes to Shikamaru and smiled. He gave her a lopsided grin, and hurriedly went to her side.

He really wasn't feeling any lazy anymore.

He took the bags out of Naruto's grasp. "I can take that now, Naruto. Sakura had been looking all over for you."

Naruto looked at an angry Sakura. "Aah, Shikamaru, could you please tell Sakura-chan I'm just his clone and the real one is kinda busy now?" He nodded. "Thanks, man, gotta go!" And before he could ask where he was going, Naruto's clone disappeared in a puff.

"Nice meeting you here." He dug his hands into the paperbags and bit his cheek. He wasn't looking like a fanboy, was he?

"Nice to see you, too." The Suna woman smiled at him.

"Where are you heading? I can carry these for you."

"Oh, I'm on a mission now, A-rank, babysitting a friend. I thought Hokage-sama will be here, didn't expect you and Team 7 to come here. My _lovely_ brothers certainly never told me, right, Gaara, Kankuro?"

He was too busy giving her his undivided attention that he didn't realize Gaara was already with them. Kankuro guiltily winced at the tone used by his sister, while the Kazekage frowned at her comment.

Something told him that two royalties from Suna are going to get bitchslapped later.

He looked around at the other people in their small crowd. Sakura was scolding Sai under her breath, and Sai was giving her the "I really don't care"-look complete with that trademark smile of his.

"It was so fun shopping with Naruto's clone, he kept picking out clothes with orange! I really don't want Heisa-oba-san's children to wear that hideous color, so it kinda took us a while to gather everything we need. The bags aren't that heavy are they?"

"Nah, I can manage." If it's for Temari, he really doesn't mind.

"Where's the real Naruto? We've been looking all over for him." Sakura inserted into their conversation, and Temari blinked before she grinned deviously.

"I bumped into him here, he was looking for ramen because he was hungry for it. He's kinda busy right now grocery shopping with my good friend Tori-chan at the mart. I gave her a list of the things she needed to buy, and when Naruto saw it, he offered to accompany her."

Shikamaru saw the frown and the pout Sakura produced, but what really got his attention was how Kankuro and Gaara's eyes instantaneously bulged at the revelation.

"Kankuro, Gaara." She batted her lashes and raised her eyebrow. "So good to see both of you. Are you done fumigating the termites in your bedrooms? By the way, I_ love_ the treatment you gave to the shirts. They were _fantastic_."

Well, things seemed to be getting interesting. Because Kankuro sucked in a large amount of breath and Gaara glared at something at the ground. Their sister seemed unperturbed.

She looked at Sai, Sakura and Shikamaru. "So glad that you could come here. Welcome to Suna."

Before they could answer, Kankuro and Gaara had already walked forward. "Uh, thank you, Temari. But where is Naruto now?"

"He's in the direction my brothers are going."

"Thanks." Sakura grabbed Sai's hand and followed the path the Suna brothers took.

"Well, that was refreshing." He happily said. He placed his hand at her back, testing the waters if she would deny him the courtesy of being her companion.

She didn't complain. Score one for the Nara.

"Oh, it's about to get even more interesting than that." She knowingly laughed.

They slowly followed their comrades, and he silently hoped that whatever it was she was planning, would work.

* * *

**The Longest Day: in a store in Suna, 5 PM**

"Oi, Naruto, what do you think about those melons Tori-chan are holding?"

He looked at the young maiden in front of him, and almost had a nosebleed. Tori-chan was trying to lift two melons from the stands, and it was so heavy she had to hug them with her chest. The pressure of those fruits on her rack made it look like she was trying to rub herself with those melons.

_Oh, Good Lord of Thy Heavens, what the heck are you doing to me?_

Damn them titties.

And damn Gamakichi for saying things like that. They were in the middle of the mart, for God's sake!

There really wasn't anyone to blame but him and his sensei. These toads are still kids, and would never understand what was going through his head right now – both heads actually.

"Oi, I'm asking you!" A pinch from Gamakichi made Naruto howl. This caused his companion to look at him.

"Are you okay, Naruto-kun? You seem a bit flushed." That sinfully sweet voice was weaved with concern, and how he wished he had found this girl before Gaara had taking a liking to her.

Yes, for the first time in his life, he can proudly say he had found a second crush, in the person of one Tori-chan from Suna. Indigo hair, porcelain skin, cute face with a killer smile, and that smokin' hot body confined in a five foot two tiny frame.

Shame. One of his closest friends had called dibs on her and Temari had said that she's Unofficially Unavailable.

Gaara, you lucky bastard.

The moment she entered the mart, he swore that all healthy men had given her a minimum of three once overs, as evidenced by their lustful gawks and curious gazes directed at her, and the jealous glares directed at him from his own species.

Who could resist her anyway?

Her silky navy blue hair was tied in a loose braid, and she left her angelic face naked except for that annoying black mask that covered her eyes.

The aqua blue crinkled elastic ruched dress that fell 2 inches above her cute knees made her look utterly _divine_, like a goddess who accidentally fell on the vast deserts of Suna and decided to graze the grounds of mere mortals like him. If he can kiss the ground she walked on, he'd do it in a heartbeat. That was his first impression of her.

The flattering cross-over V-neckline of her dress provided a cock tease of her perfectly-formed cleavage. Her D-cup breasts were mounted in a high-waist ruched dark blue bodice that flattered her thin and curvy waist. The dress' godets emphasized each sway of her wide hips. With each movement of her hips, the frilled edges would sway right and left, and would hike a few inches more giving away a sneak-peak of her creamy toned legs. Her cute feet were covered with flat Grecian sandals, completing the overall ethereal effect she had cast over him.

The innocent, God-like aura that oozed out from every pore of her curvaceous body made Naruto shudder.

And she was really, really nice. She hadn't punched him, hadn't forced him to push the cart, she even walked beside him as if he was his equal. She listened intently whenever he spoke, as if his words were really important. She gave him a new perspective about females, an actual woman who wasn't into beating the hell out of him or calling him names.

Their short conversations made him feel special, because he didn't have to get worried if he did something wrong or not. With her, he felt respected as a shinobi, as a human being, as a man.

She wasn't just fap fodder. She was, if his life was without Gaara, the real deal.

So no, he wasn't okay. Because Gaara was his friend and it was obnoxiously gross of him to be thinking sexually of his best friend's love interest. And because he was getting excited down there.

Naruto groaned. He remained rooted to the mart's tiled floor. He wiped the beads of sweat that formed on his neck and forehead. He removed his orange jacket and decided to wrap it on his waist like an apron, and hopefully Tori-chan would not be able to see what was going on with him.

"I-I'm okay, it's just that it's too crowded here." He croaked, and he almost felt like he was really a toad. How he wished he was a toad right now.

"Oh. Then I'll have to finish the job as fast as I can, so you can be relieved."

He bit his lower lip and prevented himself from groaning again. Curse Ero-sennin and his weird teachings and books, he was becoming increasingly aroused by the words "job", "as fast as I can" and "relieved".

It also doesn't help that the list Temari ordered consisted of meat, poultry, dairy products, raisins, walnuts, melons, pears, apples, cherries, oranges, eggplants, cucumbers, zucchinis and a whole lot of other crap. The fuck? Why are these things rounded and elongated? It really didn't help with the situation, it made his sexually-frustrated brain hornier.

Tori-chan placed the melons into the grocery cart, and he had stopped breathing because when she bent over, it gave him a perfect view of the outline of her pear-shaped humpable ass and milky vanilla thighs.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, he was getting a hard on in the middle of the fucking mart!

He released a pant when finally she pushed the cart to move to another stand. At least there was only one left. He looked at the list.

Oh Shit. Bananas.

What kind of sadistic bastard of a God was up there to put him into this kind of situation? HUH!? He was just happy Kyuubi was not in the mood to tease him right now, or he would literally become insane because of this woman.

He shook his head at his predicament. Tori-chan was closely examining the bananas, and… well, it conjured weird images when she placed the banana near her nose and smelled it. She even had her eyes closed, Godamnit! She examined it for bruises, and even firmly pressed or made a squeeze here and there.

His member was twitching now, and he was sucking shallow breaths to provide his lungs enough oxygen for survival.

Gamatatsu must have thought he was having an asthma attack with his hyperventilation because he started to rub Naruto's back for comfort. God knows if these toads knew what he was thinking, they would never touch him even with a ten-foot pole.

They finally went to the counter, and he quickly unloaded all of the contents of the grocery cart. He did not look at Tori-chan, because he was furiously blushing and she might ask again what's wrong and his voice might turn husky and reveal his horniness.

And the legendary Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha might be caught red handed with an aroused dick. He could mentally picture it now, the headlines of Suna's newspaper, printed in bold, black letters : "_the secret to Uzumaki Naruto's prowess_", a picture of him and his clothed arousal plastered all for the world to see.

When everything else was packed, he had somehow calmed down. He grabbed all the grocery bags and followed Tori-chan as they made their way to the exit. Everything would have been fine if she didn't speak.

"Thank you very much for helping me with the groceries, Naruto-kun." And she gave him that dazzling, sincere smile that instantly melted his tortured heart.

He closed his eyes and nervously laughed. He could feel himself blushing by her sincere gesture. "Don't mind it, dattebayo!" He was too busy looking at her while they walked that the next thing he knew, he had fallen to the ground and broke his nose.

How stupid could he be. He just charged and walked into the mart's very thick glass door, and with his forceful manner of walking, he had accidentally twisted the bridge of his nose.

Tori-chan immediately went to his side, her hands on her lips. "Oh, Naruto-kun you broke your nose."

Her hands suddenly glowed green and the warm, green chakra radiated from her dainty fingers, hovered over his face and she slowly healed what was broken.

Shame she wasn't able to heal his broken heart.

"How is it, I didn't deform your face, did I?" She giggled. He was staring too intently at her, he didn't notice that Gamakichi and Gamatatsu were now on her shoulders, relieved expressions visible on their faces.

He felt better indeed, and he touched his nose to feel the smoothness of his nose bridge. It felt like it was never broken. "Wow, that was amazing, Tori-chan! I didn't know you were a medic! Hahaha" He laughed nervously. He openly stared at her again, amazed at how her laugh sounded like wind chimes.

"You wanna lie there forever and gawk or stand up and get over here, huh, Naruto?"

He whirled his neck into the direction of that familiar voice.

Haruno Sakura was impatiently tapping her foot on the ground, her facial expression full of irritation and disgust. He felt himself cower and stood up. He looked at the group of people who was watching him now.

Kankuro was wearing a what-the-fuck expression.

Shikamaru had his usual bored expression, though his eyes were as intelligent as ever, and eyed both him and Tori-chan. He also scanned around and watched the expression of the people around him.

Temari was caught between amusement and disbelief.

Sai was studying Tori-chan like she was an interesting piece of art, religiously scrutinizing her face. What that dickhead was thinking, he doesn't know.

He was afraid to meet his aquamarine eyes, but he could not help return his gaze that was intensely boring him on the spot. He looked at his friend, and his heart fell at his expression.

Hurt. Disappointment. Anger. Jealousy. He closed his tanuki eyes and Naruto could see the effort Gaara was trying to relax himself. The Kazekage awkwardly turned around and pushed a raccoon plushy into Kankuro's chest, and walked out of the mart.

He could easily understand what his friend felt.

Because he felt the same way a few years ago, when Sakura-chan hugged Sasuke-teme the moment he awoke from his month long coma after the Chuunin exams.

"Do you mind introducing us to your _lovely_ companion, Naruto?" The sarcasm in Sakura-chan's voice was evident, so without further ado, he introduced his new found friend to her teammate.

"Sai and Sakura-chan, this is Tori-chan. She's Gaara, Temari and Kankuro's friend. Tori-chan, these are my teammates, Sai and Haruno Sakura-chan of Team 7 from Konoha." His voice was remorseful, and he really wasn't in the mood for argument right now.

"It's a very _nice_ pleasure to meet you, ah, Tori." Sakura smirked, her arms clasped together and eyed Tori-chan from head to toe.

"Wow... Your eyes are green." The unfazed brunette retorted, her smile unwavering amidst the thick tension in the air.

"And what do you mean by that?," came the snappy reply from the pink-haired nin.

"Nothing. Just that the color green really,_ really _suits you." Tori-chan gave her a smile again, and proceeded to look at Naruto and bowed. "Thank you for helping me again, Naruto-kun. I hope you enjoy your stay in Suna."

The masked nin eyed them individually, her gaze lingered with Sai. Sai met her gaze evenly.

Naruto only nodded, and Shikamaru made a clone. His clone gathered all of the grocery bags. Temari, Tori-chan and the two Shikamarus waved their goodbye and headed to their destinations.

Once they were out of earshot, Sakura dragged both him and Sai out of the mart and berated them about trying to pick up Suna girls like Tori something. He really couldn't follow though, his mind was too busy processing about what really happened there. Kankuro lazily followed behind them, and was silent for the first time since they met this afternoon.

Three men were silent amidst the complaints of their female companion, lost in their own sea of thoughts.

His thoughts of ramen and his summons were long forgotten.

* * *

**_The Longest Day: Kazekage Tower, 6:30 PM_**

He had been staring at the ceiling for the last few hours. That last mission with the new Team 7 opened his mind into the idea of bonds, friendship and sacrifice. It also unearthed the suppressed memories he had when he was younger.

Ever since he had met her at the mart, he knew it was her. His sharp eyes from years of being an artist cultivated his keen observational skills, and he knew he couldn't have been mistaken. Those perfectly arched eyebrows. The high cheekbones. Her large, doe-shaped eyes that occupied almost half of her face. The cupid bow-shaped lips. The slender, elegant neck. The porcelain skin.

He looked at his sketchbook again and flipped through the pages. He also eyed the completed picture book that rested at his lap.

He looked at a picture of him and his brother, Shin.

He could now remember perfectly. He was thirteen then. It was his first mission and his first time in that dark place. He was fairly new with Root, and his more experienced nii-san was with him in the dark dungeons of Konoha's dirty underground tunnels that became their lair.

Suddenly his interest in the festival was long gone.

He opened up a scroll, dipped his paintbrush into the ink and started painting twenty moderately-sized mice.

"Ninpou: Choju Giga"

The mice came to life, and scattered themselves into the grounds of Suna.

He looked at his picture book again and thought of his brother.

_Nii-san, Hyuuga Hinata is alive in Suna._

He stood up and changed.

He had a personal mission to do.

* * *

A/N

While I was eating chocolate cake and drinking grape juice at 1 am, a farfetched theory came to mind... If the Sharingan was derived from the Hyuuga clan's Byakugan, and the Sage of Six Paths (Rikudo Sennin) was the father of the Older Son (Uchiha) and the Younger Son (Senju), hypothetically speaking if Rikudo Sennin had a wife, would it be safe to say she was a female Hyuuga? O.O?

Maybe it's just the insomnia acting. Or the cake and the juice. :D?

Introducing Team 7 and Shikamaru...

Your thoughts about this chapter? Everyone is encouraged to review :) thanks


	23. Chapter 23

A/ N Part 1

disclaimer for all chapters: I don't own Naruto... but the OCs and this fic's plot is mine. :)

Italics = _thoughts_

* * *

**The Longest Day : Kazekage Tower, 7:30 PM**

"If you're looking for Gaara, he isn't there."

Naruto was about to knock on the Kazekage's office door, when Kankuro's booming voice came out of nowhere. Dejected, he slumped his shoulders and started to make his way out.

He looked at Gaara's brother and noticed that he was still wearing a shirt and faded denim pants, a far cry from the Jinchuuriki's orange and black kimono.

"I'm going to wear the Kazekage outfit tonight, and will henge as Gaara. Bro's in a broody mood, so I offered to take his place. He won't be coming to the festival."

Those revelations only made him feel worse. His personal life was already quite a mess in Konoha, and he thought that coming to his friend's village and attending the festival in lieu of the Hokage would somehow alleviate his problem. Thoughts about the past had burdened him ever since he had that talk with Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, Shino and Shikamaru a few days ago.

Maybe coming to Suna was not the best decision after all.

Moreover, his team's situation wasn't getting any better either.

The past few hours were hectic. When they came back to the tower, Sakura went on the offensive and continued to nag him and Sai, who only ignored her and went into his room. When Naruto was about to enter his, his female teammate followed him and instructed him to get his packs, because she did not want to see the artist and would not want to sleep in the tower anymore. So without another complaint he grabbed his packs, explained to Kankuro about his female teammate's decision, and went out to Central Suna with Sakura to look for a room with two beds at the local inn. She decided that they would stay there for the remainder of their mission in Suna.

He sighed again. Everything was just so damn wrong. When he came back to Konoha, he thought some things would have changed. And now he tried to escape realism by coming to Suna; it only made matters worse because he had unfortunately hurt Gaara's feelings.

When he came back after years of training with Ero-Sennin, he had high hopes that all those years of love letters, souvenirs and postcards would improve his long overdue, stagnant as a fuck, one-sided relationship with Sakura.

But Fate was harsher than usual to poor Naruto Uzumaki, because some bittersweet things remained the same. Ichiraku's still served the best ramen, Iruka-sensei still fussed about his academy students like a mother hen, and Ton-Ton was still alive, and had not been slayed for dinner amidst the rumored debts of the Godaime Hokage.

Out of all the things that remained constant when he came home, one fact decided to linger painfully: the messy unrequited loves revolving around Team 7. He was still in love with Sakura, Sakura was still in love with Sasuke, and Sasuke was still in love with himself becoming an avenger. It's a never ending lose-lose situation. What hurt Naruto the most was that the main reason he left the village was to become stronger and to protect everyone in the village, get Sasuke's ass back home, and finally gain Sakura's acceptance and love.

Guess his fairytale did come to an end a week ago, when he properly confessed and asked her out again for a lovely dinner for two, and was blatantly rejected on the spot.

He knew he was an impatient man, but when it came to love, affection and attention, he really didn't mind fighting tooth and nail to gain her acceptance. But after all those years and all those efforts, the woman he had harbored feelings for since they were in their Academy days, was still not over his best friend.

And it confused him that even though she would not accept his affections, after his failed confession, whenever she had caught him talking to Ayame or Ino or any other random girl over something as trivial as training or some random thing, she would often raise her eyebrows and give him that look like he had somehow cheated or made a mistake by talking to other single women. It baffled him. If he was a free man, then why didn't he feel like he was unattached?

And the fiasco in the mart with Gaara's woman only made it worse, Sakura continued to question and berate him at the inn as to where his loyalties lay and whether his affections for her were still as high as the fucking clouds Shikamaru liked to watch. The hell? Last time he checked she was still rejecting him. And yeah, he admitted to himself that he gawked and was attracted to Tori. He appreciated her physical attributes and her personality. He did consider befriending her, courting her in the long run (not for the sake of rebound, mind you) and getting to know her more if it weren't for his friendship with Gaara.

He knew he had no right to complain, and he didn't want to have arguments with women (especially her). But a man who waited for more than two years to finally get that shot to become her boyfriend can't help but become frustrated at his situation. Three days ago before this mission was given to them, he vented his rants to Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Shino and heck even Akamaru, and released all of his feelings under the clear blue skies of the Konoha training grounds.

Damn, he never cried that much since the Old Man Sandaime's death.

Revelations were discussed, their personal thoughts were voiced out, and advice was given. He was shocked at what Kiba jabbed at him, of Shino's no-nonsense intelligent drones, of Chouji's kind words and Shikamaru's brain-nagging comments.

That really rustled his jimmies. Were all his friends right about him and his teammates' situation?

"Oi, Naruto, stop going derpy on me, man." Kankuro shook his shoulders. Naruto grunted and huffed, and Kankuro grimaced and looked at Naruto's hand. "You motherfucker, you drank the Hokage's gift to Gaara, didn't ya?" Naruto sneered, raised the bottle and shook it. Kankuro laughed. There wasn't much sake left.

"Where is he? I… I just wanna talk to him… No, I wanna talk to you both." He was kind of tipsy, but he did not worry. He had sake when he was traveling with the sage, and that's when he discovered that he had an insane metabolism to alcohol (special thanks to Kyuubi's power).

"At Tori-chan's workplace, the greenhouse. He's been talking to the plants since we came back, like they were his freakin' therapists." Kankuro comically rolled his eyes, trying to alleviate the situation. "How's it goin' with your girl? And what's with the drinking binge? Got into a love quarrel?" Kankuro led both of them downstairs, and Naruto followed him.

"You can't really call it a love quarrel if it's only one sided." That blurted out of his mouth before he could stop himself, which caught Kankuro's attention.

"That deep, huh?" the older nin retorted. He only remained silent, and Kankuro didn't bother to say anything until they arrived at the greenhouse.

True enough, Gaara was inside the greenhouse. He was only wearing casual clothing, and his hair was messy as if he's been trying to rip off his scalp from his head. He looked somber and didn't recognize them when they both entered the greenhouse. The Kage was sitting on a chair and his elbows were propped on a long table, chin resting on one of his palms. He was intently staring at a cactus, and Naruto couldn't help but look at Kankuro for help.

"Hey bro." Kankuro started lamely. "Naruto wants to tell us something. And I think we need to hear him out."

Gaara eyed them both, his aquamarine eyes pierced through them and Naruto could feel the dripping sweat that traveled from his forehead to his neck. Two torturous minutes later, Gaara composed himself and faced both of them. "What is it?"

Naruto gulped. He had been practicing this speech on his long way here, and thanked the heavens that at least Gaara was still willing to hear him out. "First of all, I wanna say sorry for what happened earlier and I'm sorry I drank your sake. I'm sorry for not listening to ya and even though ya ordered me not to get out of the tower, I still went outside. I'm sorry that even though Temari told me that you were very interested in Tori-chan, I still made a fool out of myself, allowed my blasphemous shitty hormones to overcome me and guffawed at her like she was some kinda grocery store display. I'm also very, very sorry that I hurt you when you saw us laughing inside the store. I'm really sorry, Gaara, I may have flirted and thought of her sexually, but believe me, she never tried to flirt back and the only moment she touched me was when I broke my nose and she healed it. So please don't imprison me in Suna, don't castrate me because I was horny, and Oh God please don't start a war with Konoha because Tsunade-obaa-chan would surely make my life a living hell and make sure I would die before you could even kill me with a firing squad."

Gaara blinked at Naruto's speech. Kankuro only sneered. "I don't think it would be wise to start a war just because of that." Naruto released a contented sigh.

"But next time I see you trying to make a move on her, I will not allow myself to just sit down and watch you take her away for me."

_She's off limits, she's mine, deal with it_. That was the silent message and the way Gaara delivered his menacing threat, it was done in the most casual way and was so damn effective, it scared the bejeebus out of him.

"Will you give him the "I'll crush your genitals" speech too like how you threatened me when I admired her chest?"

Naruto incredulously turned to Kankuro and gave him an are-you-out-of-your-mind look.

"Why the fuck are you giving him ideas dattebayo?" he whined to Gaara's brother.

"Don't you dare lie to me and tell me ya didn't take a look at her rack and ass, bitch, because I'm sure if those assets were able to talk you would gladly held out your hands, grab their attention and start saying "Howdy" in five different languages."

Next thing he knew, Kankuro was grabbing his crotch because Gaara's sand mildly crushed his older brother's pelvic region. "Damn, bro, I was just tryin' to get my message across, stop making my balls blue!"

And the crazy kage bastard didn't even blink, and looked at Kankuro as if nothing happened. "Next time I'll rip off all of your fucking family jewels even before you could say ouch."

Kankuro shook his head, contented that he survived this psychotic episode. He looked at Naruto and sneered. "I was right, wasn't I? You were checking her out at the store."

His silence and profuse sweating only confirmed Kankuro's thoughts. That earned them both the evil glare from Gaara. "See? That's why we never wanted you to see her in the first place! We put her on a mission with Temari so Tori-chan would never have to meet Shikamaru or you. And our plan shat on our faces and backfired at us! Bigtime! Temari ain't talking to me and is with that Lazy Ass. Tori-chan didn't even _look_ at Gaara much less recognize his existence, my psycho brother's moping and talking to his ex-girlfriend Cactugina the Prick. You're moping and drinking your ass out, your girl Sakura's bitch slapping you, Asswipe is gone to God-Knows-Where, and I would not be able to confess to Sari-chan for the nth fucking time because I screwed things up!" Kankuro huffed and rubbed his palm over his face in frustration.

Naruto was puzzled. "Why don't you want her to talk to me?" He pouted. "Come to think of it, she kinda looked familiar."

Kankuro froze at his statement, but Gaara was able to think of an excuse. "She's Mitarashi Anko-sensei's secret half sister. Both have blue hair, so you may have Tori-chan confused with someone from Konoha." He paused. "And she used to love a blonde guy."

Naruto's face brightened up. "Oh, yeah, now I remember! Haha! She does look like her! And you said she had a thing for blondes? Damn, talk about missed opportunities. Haha!" The sake really wasn't helping the situation, and he suddenly felt Gaara's sand crush his torso. "Jeez, Gaara, I was just joking!"

Gaara released him, and Naruto straightened out his kimono. "There are so many things wrong with you Gaara, anybody tell you about that?"

"You don't say!" Kankuro's sarcasm was very evident.

"And Kankuro, I think it's not good to hate Shikamaru. He's a cool guy, in fact he's the most mature dude from the Konoha eleven together with Neji. I know that because…. Because he was one of the guys who talked to me after I was rejected."

That shut the Suna brothers up.

His voice changed drastically into a sadder one. "Ya heard me right." That came out more as a whine, but nevertheless, he gave them a bittersweet smile. "Sakura-chan rejected me a week ago, I got friend zoned, but every time I try to talk to other girls just for the sake of talking, she doesn't like it and goes jealous all over. You saw how she was, Kankuro."

Naruto painfully closed his eyes. His tone was milder and softer, uncharacteristic for Konoha's loudmouth hero. "Ever since the Teme left, I have put her on a pedestal and treated her like she was my girl and made sure she wasn't alone. I saw that she was really unhappy when things went downhill and I made sure to cheer her up. And I saw that she was happy with my company. It came to the point that I brought her flowers, gifts, chocolates, ya know the stuff most boyfriends give to their girls, and I continued to send letters to her even when I was training with Ero-sennin. She was sweet in most of her letters, mind ya, and it came to the point where I think we got to a level of mutually understanding each other. So I was happy that we were getting somewhere."

"But we had a mission where we went into Orochimaru's lair, and Team seven had a fight with the bastard. And after she saw him, powerful and mighty and all, Sakura-chan became distant again. I think she got to examine her feelings again, and all my hard work just went bullocks after that." He pinched the bridge of his nose to prevent himself from crying, but the tears just fell and both Suna brothers sympathized with him.

"Ya know about my nindo, Gaara, and so I tried to remain cheerful even though I knew things were going sour…. So I… I asked her out properly after that, confessed again, and she said no. I was so hurt that I blurted out that I have put her on a pedestal all these years and ya know what she said? She said that she never asked to be put there anyway." He scrunched up his face again, and wiped his face with the sleeves of his kimono. God, he felt like an idiot now. "And what hurt the most was that it was true."

They can only provide silence, as Naruto remained silent to regain his composure and thoughts. "And Kiba, Shino, Akamaru, Chouji and Shikamaru were all there when I was down. They allowed me to wail about my frustrations and were there for me when fate bit my sorry ass out and chunked me into the Friend Zone. They were all there for me, man, and I think Shikamaru nailed the coffin with this theory that Sakura-chan still wanted Sasuke, that I was left to become the go-to guy by default, and that she may have only wanted most of the benefits of a relationship but none of the commitment." Naruto snorted. "He even said that I failed to see the diamond in the rough because I was too focused on trying to reach for that shiny gilded stone. And don't get me started who it was." _Damn, they were right, I really did friend zone Hinata. She must've felt that pain, huh? I'm really, really sorry, Hinata, wherever you are right now._

Naruto snorted. "Funny that _**that**_ came out of that lazy man's mouth." He laughed again, caught up with other thoughts.

"I am trapped in the dreaded friend zone, and Sakura-chan's making me feel caged even though Kiba said that I was free as a bird to do the hell I want to."

All that talking had made his head clearer. The sake was not in control anymore. "And part of me's liking that she cared enough to be somewhat jealous, but part of me is sad too that I feel that I'm not really free. And when I came here to Suna to drown my depression, I met Tori-chan and she was so different from Sakura-chan, so different from Konoha girls who kept treating me like shit, that I couldn't help myself and I instantly took a liking to her."

Gaara gripped the arm of the chair he was sitting on, his face stern. He was holding his breath now, and he couldn't hide that he was worried for what Naruto was about to say.

"But then I saw your face when we were at the mart, and I knew how you felt." His serious face met Gaara's. "I know how you feel so well... I know it hurts*."

Naruto's eyes softened, and he gave him a sorrowful smile. "It's almost unbearable, isn't it… the pain of seeing the girl you love fuss over another guy, and how you wish that lucky guy was you. I know that feeling, I've been there, in that dark and lonely place. I'm your friend, Gaara, and our friendship means more to me than any other girl out there. I don't want to see you suffer the way I did. I don't want you to get friend zoned and come home drunk as fuck because some douchebag messed up the blooming relationship and got in your way. I care more about your happiness than I do myself, and I won't let any other guy meddle in your love life and stir another shitload of messy love triangles, even if that guy is me."

Gaara's now stoic face hardened. "So you're saying?"

Naruto smiled. "I'm going to support both of ya, and I'm going to find a way to fix the things I messed up. 'Cause I'm totally shippin' you both."

Gaara stoic façade broke. Beffudled was an understatement, because he wasn't able to comprehend what his friend said. "Wait, wait… I don't understand…_I'm_ the one who messed things up... _I'm_ the one who put her away on a mission so she never had to meet you, because I was afraid she'd fall for you. _I_ wanted to imprison you inside the tower because _I_ wanted to slim down the chances of you discovering her existence. If anything, _I'm_ the one who should be saying my apologies here, which I truly am… I really am sorry for treating you badly, Naruto…. I was being selfish, and I wasn't a good friend."

"Yeah… Sorry, dude, we were thinking badly of you and Shikamaru that we had to fall so low as to scheme something like that," Kankuro shamefully added.

Naruto waved his hand, and dismissed their thoughts. "Nah, I understand, Ero-sennin said it is normal for men to get territorial because we're cave men like that. So I don't blame ya for keepin' her away from me. I would have done the same too if I was in your shoes. So all's good, mates."

"You're a fucking weirdo, you know that? You're too selfless and forgiving for your own good." Kankuro jabbed at Naruto. "Other men would have wanted to pursue her right there and then, men who wouldn't give a flying fuck about the bro code."

Naruto released his trademark goofy smile. "I don't think I'd be able to live a life without Gaara's friendship. I only have a few sincere ones, and he's one of them. Besides, he's not someone to mess with, you know. Tori-chan's the first girl he's been interested in. He finally _**looked,**_ and _**felt**_ emotions like normal guys, and I don't want to take that away from him."

He slapped Gaara on the back, and he decided to end his drama. He had finally unearthed that inner turmoil that nagged him today. Granted he was confused, but now that it was all out in the open, he was immensely pleased that he still had brothers to talk to even when he was away from Konoha.

He looked at Gaara and beamed. His friend needed him more right now.

"Ugh, man, enough with my drama, and let's focus on yours! I'm happy to know that you're not like the bastards in my team, asexual and all, because before I came here I was really, really scared for you and your future, man. For a long time I thought Gaara's balls are inert**."

Kankuro laughed at his brother's dumbfounded reaction. Naruto was trying to be comical, and even made fun of Gaara just for the heck of it. Trust Naruto to leave Gaara speechless and confused. The knucklehead's ability to shift a depressing talk (which he started, by the way) into a lighthearted exchange really amazed him. Kankuro had always liked that about the guy, and it's even more hilarious that Gaara doesn't understand most of what they meant with their language and their crude comments, but decided to keep mum for his sanity's sake.

"Yeah, and his possessive obsessive power level when it comes to Tori-chan is over 9000!**. I could imagine him slowly adding poison to your ramen, creepin' around and stalkin' ya until you are driven insane, feed you to the vultures in the desert, drown you in a pool of raging fire ants, stuff his cacti collection in your pants, and castrate your dick while he dangles your mangled body for some rabid dogs all the while preparing your grave in the depths of the Naka river. "

Naruto gulped. Gaara only groaned. "You make it sound like I'm the worst kind of a madman. And your imagination still amazes me, Kankuro." His older brother had always been dramatic, thoroughly cementing his past theory that Kankuro was dropped on his head when he was a baby. Twice.

"Thanks for the compliments, but I'm saying it out loud and proud because you definitely are the worst kind of madman, you dimwit! What kind of a guy would fuckin' burn the clothes of his love interest just because her best friends gave it to her? And you even fanned the shit and dug yourself a deeper grave when you said that termites infested them so you had to burn them! That was the stupidest excuse I had ever heard of, and you were supposed to be a military tactical genius, bro, for cryin' out loud! And now you're here mopin' because Temari bitch slapped us, your girl is pissed at ya, and you wish you could've been in the festival right now holding her hand like you always fucking do."

Naruto laughed, highly amused at Gaara's crime. "So that's why Tori-chan was royally pissed! Hahaha, serves you right, asshole!"

Yeah, and it also doesn't help that his best male friend is highly similar to his older brother. Jovial, funny, kinda idiotic, outlandish, carefree and highly volatile.

It's like being caught in between two ticking time bombs.

Kankuro gave Gaara a pitiful look. "Sometimes I wonder what kind of strong stuff our old man was smokin' because I wanna know where he had gotten the spliff that made him decide to mess up your life. You could have had a normal life right now. I just wanna go to that establishment and burn it all down."

"We can't change the past, Kankuro… We can only do something about it… And stop making fun of me, I admit I was wrong, okay? It was a spur-of-the-moment decision and I didn't understand my feelings until you explained them to me," came Gaara's serious defense. "I have planned to formally apologize to her tonight, I just don't know where and how to start it."

Kankuro snorted again. "First and foremost, you don't want Tori-chan to see that emotionally constipated look when you are making your apologies. Greet her with a smile. Seriously, Gaara, you need to lighten up. Bro, you need to pull that stick out of your pretty Kazekage ass and get some humor in your life. Naruto, as I'm about to go to the festival as Gaara, I may not be of some big help here, but I will do my best to pretend to be him, while you help my brother make up with Tori-chan. Let's get this hopeless lover boy back on track and get him together with Tori-chan tonight."

Naruto nodded. "I'm with ya on that, dattebayo! I don't have anythin' to do right now, Sakura-chan said she'll be in the hospital and I really don't know where Sai is."

Even though their personality greatly differed with his own, he found it weird that the three of them meshed so well together. Lighthearted at the prospect of seeing her tonight, he gave them a small smile.

"Before we go to Baki-sensei's house, I need to visit Chiyo-obaa-sama's grave. Even if Tori-chan doesn't accept my apologies tonight, I'd still be able to fulfill my promise to her that I will visit her sensei's grave." Gaara looked at the cactus again, and touched the pot where the cactus was planted.

"Tori-chan was Chiyo-obaa-chan's student? I didn't know that!" Naruto looked at Gaara for confirmation, and the Kage nodded. "It was also because of her that we met Tori-chan."

_That must be the reason why she was so good at fixing my nose, she learned from the best in Suna_, Naruto thought. Huh, how ironic. The woman who revived Gaara was the same woman who introduced Tori-chan to Gaara. It's like she hadn't not only brought Gaara's life back, but also introduced life into him through Tori-chan. And Naruto saw the difference. Gaara was definitely different from before.

He felt a surge of pride for his friend. The night was still young after all, and he will do everything to make his friend happy. "I still have to eat my ramen, dattebayo. Oi, Kankuro, good luck with the henge! And Gaara, let's meet here in an hour! Wear a damn kimono, okay!?"

Both brothers nodded and he went out of the greenhouse.

Naruto made sure to hide the evil grin plastered in his face, his inner jester conjuring brilliant ideas out of thin air.

The previous Hokage and Iruka-sensei had always commented that he was a handful.

And maybe he'd put that talent to good use now.

He snickered. For sure, Gaara will thank him later.

* * *

_**The Longest Day: Suna Cemetery, 8:30 PM**_

_"Chiyo-obaa-sama, you have given me another chance at life. You revived me from my unfortunate death, and I can't thank you enough for everything. This cactus that I offer, I willingly give to you– "_

"HOLY SHIT! The wind got sand in the ramen! How the fuck is this thing going to taste right now?!

_"This cactus that I offer, I willingly give to you as a sign of my gratitude, and a symbol of asking for the deepest apologies. I have wronged your student and hurt her because of my selfishness. Chiyo-obaa-sama, if you are in heaven now –"_

"GAAH! Gamatatsu, try to hold your tears now, just a few more minutes more! Hold it in and I swear I'm never gonna starve you again!"

_"If you are in heaven now, please give me the strength to overcome this night. I have made mistakes and I have wronged your student –"_

"I'll give you that scorpion and I'll make it into a steak, just don't throw up, okay!? And you can eat yakiniku when we come back to Konoha!"

_"Chiyo-obaa-sama, I know you love Naruto, but please forgive me for what I'm about to do."_

"PWEARGH! What the fuck, Gaara, why the hell did you stuff sand just into my mouth, you freaky bastard!"

"We're in the middle of the fucking cemetery, moron, in front of Chiyo-obaa-sama's grave, and I've been trying to pray here but you just have to be so damn noisy!"

Gaara looked around, him and Naruto and that big canary-colored toad summon of Naruto's named Gamatatsu were in the middle of the fucking valley where Sunagakure's public cemetery was located.

They came here as promised. Everything could have been all right. They had already placed a blanket underneath them where they can sit down and offer their prayers. The incense was silently burning in front of her tomb, while small rose potpourris were scattered around the stone. He had brought his Pereskia cactus as an offering, while Naruto brought… well, as expected, a hot cup of instant ramen.

"We're in front of Chiyo-obaa-sama's grave, the woman who saved us from an Akatsuki member, who acknowledged our shared pain, and you're only going to offer her a cup of ramen?" As much as it entertained and enjoyed his best male friend's interests, a cup of ramen just doesn't add up to the heroine of Sunagakure.

Naruto looked at the red head with an are-you-on-a-high look. "Why!? This cup of ramen came from the bottom of my heart! And Chiyo-obaa-chan knows I'm not rich, so she'll forgive me." He gave off a rambunctious laugh that echoed throughout the cemetery. "And what's wrong with ramen, tebayo!? You desert people really don't know how to appreciate ramen! And what's with that freaky looking cactus anyway?"

"Hn. Whatever."

Gaara decided not to argue with him, no point trying to debate with the stubborn knucklehead. He looked at his offering as a wave of nostalgia hit him. "It was given to me by a business man two years ago. He said that this particular cactus was known for its beautiful flowers, and yet it has always refused to bloom. I took care of it ever since. And still I haven't seen it bloom, until today."

"Why, what's changed?" Gaara straightened his back and stood up. He folded the blanket, rearranged his kimono and looked at the potted plant again. "Tori-chan said something to me before she left on a mission…. She said that plants need someone to interact with them too. That sometimes it's okay to talk to them, and share the emotional part of yourself. If you can open up to them, then their flowers will open up for you. And I'm happy it finally bloomed today. And I'm offering this to Chiyo-sama, for my gratitude. I am entirely indebted to her."

_He really does listen to her, huh_, Naruto grimaced. _Damn, never knew I'd get to see the day when the asshole's goin' soft…._

And he knew what that gratitude and debt meant, because Gaara wasn't only thankful about his second chance in life, he was also thankful that the old hag took care of her too.

_Enough with the theatrics, let's get this show on the road, dattebayo! _He slyly looked at his friend, who was still too caught up with the internal drama of his Tori-chan. _By the end of the night, you will bow down to your knees, lick the soles of my feet and thank me, you motherfucker!_

"Shikamaru said that this is the festival for the Kazekage, and everyone's kinda giving you presents and stuff. So what kinda stuff do you like?" He had successfully calmed his voice, and congratulated himself for not giving away his excitement. Naruto knew Gaara was not materialistic, and he knew what his friend wanted, but Naruto badly needed to siphon the exact words out of the leader's mouth.

He quirked an invisible eyebrow at Naruto, who was flashing his usual smile. _There's something wrong about him,_ he shrugged. Maybe it was just his imagination_. _And maybe the Uzumaki was always malicious. "I just want to tell her I'm sorry for being a prick, and I'm going out on a limb here but I hope she does come home… Sigh...I just want her back, Naruto."

That finally sealed the deal.

"Good. Because I'll be damned if she didn't hear that loud and clear. Hahahahaha! Did she hear that, Gamatatsu?"

The teary-eyed toad only nodded, clasped his mouth as if he was about to throw up.

The naughty jinchuuriki anchored his arms to Gaara's shoulders and beamed at him. "You're gonna get this one amazing chance of a lifetime, buddy, so don't screw this up!" He raised a thumbs up sign to Gamatatsu. "You can throw up now, Gamatatsu!"

And like every other summon who was forced to follow his (idiotic) master's orders, Gamatatsu opened his mouth and pressed his round belly. Gaara's mind whirled into digested insects, probably some bony fragments, but what came out from its mouth literally turned his world upside down.

"Take care of her will ya!" Naruto didn't wait for his reply. He climbed Gamatatsu's back while the toad gave quick teary apologies. The blonde slapped the frog's back and they both jumped out into the wide desert, most likely towards the direction of the festival.

_THIS IS WHAT HE MEANT WHEN HE SAID HE WILL HELP? He could have just accompanied me to sensei's house! Baka!_

One of these days, he's going to have to skin that guy alive.

But this was a more pressing concern above anything else. So the torture would have to wait.

Gaara looked back at the gagged figure on the ground, unfolded the blanket and approached her. Her hands were tied behind her back and her ankles bound by some black rope. Her hair was in a messy and knotty state, and her cookie-printed top and pajama bottoms stuck to her body like a second glove.

Skin the guy alive, and roast the rest of him in a public bonfire. Yup. That should do that trick.

Because regurgitated from Gamatatsu's belly was none other the only recipient of his affections, his teary-eyed Hinata in all her gooey gunky mucilaginous galore.

_Epic. Just fucking epic, Naruto._

* * *

A/N Part 2

*some quotes from the manga were adjusted to fit into the story

** some DBZ lines also went into this, can't help it. lol.

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Thank you kuriboh1233, Peridot0814, MusicFreax for adding to your favorites. And thank you again XxTwilightteamEdwardxX, kuriboh1233, Peridot0814 for following.

HinatamaniacXD - we'll see sai in future chapters :D thanks...

Nuriiko - yes, they finally met again. haha... yep, i think the sarcasm regarding her natural green eyes and "jealousy=green" thing is also well placed in the previous chapter... thanks for the review :)

sweetgirl929 - thank you! :D and my uncle's adjusting pretty well.. AH, that Gaahina moment, you say :D? i don't want to spoil :X but there will be moments ;) :D :) :D

Sunny - hey there, nice to see you again :D haha, regarding sakura... well, i have something planned for her, and i hope it fits well... and sai too has his own mission.. we'll see him in the future again.. thanks for the review ;)

genotype -thanks! haha... it's great to know that people enjoy this fic. Yeah, i specifically wanted team 7 and shikamaru to come to Suna because everyone plays a vital role. That way no one is left out ;) and hopefully more happy readings to all

sailorangelmoon1 - lol... the first time i heard her call that,i loled. i watch the jap dub, english sub anime, i dunno how the english dub goes... thanks for reading and the review :)

Veraozao- thank you for the reviews, you always came back for more :)

ShadowWalker NightCrawler2 - i know what you mean :D sometimes i wonder if i am really that perverted, or if it's my sick humor, or is it just the writer in me doing all that :D? i dunno, i'll leave my judgment to the readers :D haha, i'll keep mum for now regarding that last statement. xoxo, and thank you :)

Peridot0814 - hey there! :D thanks for the advice, i moved all the responses downstairs. lol. :D and thanks for the review, i do hope that the plot i have in mind will work for everyone :)

Whitelady043 - yes, it was sai and shin who tortured hinata... during the war arc, sai was under the leadership of kankuro, remember that shinobi alliance recon team vs. deidara, sasori, that big looking guy and shin? that was were i got the idea to include sai in the fic... :) and yeah, they're kinda similar. hahaha.

Guest - Thank you very much :D

KiraChan44 - thank you as always, you're a very hard working beta... for fixing my messy sentences, thank you so much.. xoxo

EVERYONE - it may take sometime for the next update... because lately my inspiration is depleting... just some real life situations im going through... and this negative feeling somehow impeded in my update schedule, because i know what i want in a chapter but that negative feeling gets in the way on how i want my words to flow out ... it kinda gets frustrating to look at a computer screen and wait for sometimes 30 minutes to get to another paragraph, when i didn't have this difficulty before... so i guess i need to find something to inspire me. The songs i used to listen like "collide" and other mushy songs aren't helping anymore :/

I hope i find something soon, because i don't want to screw up the next chapters...

so maybe i'll be gone for sometime. and this has only made my update schedule unpredictable...

so apologies if i can't update asap, and hurrah if an inspiration comes along and i get excited again and update soon...

i know it was slow. But i do hope naruto's feelings were expounded, especially of what happened in konoha...

would like to hear your thoughts about these chapter :) thank you very much :D


	24. Chapter 24

A/N part 1: italics = _thoughts_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**NOTE 1.1 :** This chapter is unbetaed. But the plot was already approved by my beta KiraChan44. Explanation on A/N Part 2.

**Note 1.2:** The first part of this chapter is Hinata's nightmare. Anything can happen in dreams. but Chapters numbered 6 and 7 were explanations for this. For other questions, pls feel free to leave a comment or review or PM, and I will answer them. thanks.

* * *

**_Finally made it through the lonely_**

**_To the other side_**

**_You set it again, my heart's in motion_**

**_Every word feels like a shooting star_**

**_I'm at the edge of my emotions_**

**_Watching the shadow's burning in the dark_**

**_And I'm in love, and I'm terrified_**

**_For the first time and the last time_**

**_In my only life_**

- Terrified, by Katharine Mcfee ft. Zachary Levi

* * *

**Inside Hinata's dream**

_"Pathetic"_

_"Useless"_

_"Poor excuse for a kunoichi"_

_"Unworthy"_

_"You are the bane of these Genius' existence"_

_"You're only fodder"_

_"Worthless!"_

_"Worthless!"_

_"WORTHLESSSSSSSS!"_

She snapped her eyes open, and here she was, half-naked again, in her own little white pseudo-fucked up room, a trap room exclusive for the mentally insane.

White walls. White sheets. White fucking pillows and white fucking bed. And not even a single God damn window in sight. She rolled her eyes. When the hell is he going to change this décor?

She huffed. This wasn't really the time for her friend to give her a visit. No, rephrase that, he really should just back off! But then again, he always had impeccable timing in ruining things , and he's freakin' residing in her limbic system because of that stupid poison, so she really wasn't that much shocked he'd come for another visit.

Fucking tranny.

The long-haired Sannin was sitting on the white bed, his lab coat left to cover that horridly pale chest of his. Her tired eyes tried to keep focus on his face, while she tried to block the echoes of the same insults that were sputtered near her ear by his white slithering creatures, as the creepy crawlers feasted their fangs on her weakened body.

Welcome to Orochimaru's House of Wackos. Or as Hinata liked to call it, her ultra-exclusive Mindrape Torture Chamber.

Of all her hallucinations, illusions and lucid dreams, this was the place she hated the most. And as much as she loathed getting her mind warped back into Danzo's lair, that place was a whole lot better than this puffed up, frilly-frilly, highly obnoxious 12 x 12 ft. white room made up of white snake scales. This room witnessed the most distasteful mindrapes she had to attend to, a feat Orochimaru liked to point out whenever they have their "sessions". Sessions from the gore to the godawful, from the deranged to the outrageous, she'd seen them all here. His favorite was having his scaly snakes roam around her body while she bathed in her own blood, and her least favorite would have to be that time when that sick man open her head and chest cavities and did his "experiments", while she thrashed in pain because he liked to do them sans anesthesia.

She had already lost a lot of chakra when she chased away and punched and dispersed an armyload of Naruto kage bunshins. While Naruto took advantage of the chaos he created to capture her like some friggin' animal and stuffed her inside Jiraiya-sensei's pet, Orochimaru took advantage of her condition and whirled her consciousness into this abyss.

God, how she despised herself now for not taking note of things she should have not forgotten about Naruto. One, that he's a very persistent guy, and two, he's one of the densest people in Konoha and most likely will not understand her sarcasm. She would have to be careful not to fall for his tricks again and be honest with him, get her things straight to the point, or suffer being chunked again into an amphibian's gut just because she sarcastically said so.

Her bad streaks just kept on coming, and Danzo and Orochimaru's activities were highly getting erratic and troublesome especially when she's extremely weak.

She'd have had enough with their schemes, thus she had been trying to preserve her chakra all day unless she wanted a repeat performance of the cookie incident. But the arrival of Konoha shinobis shook her to the core and displaced her well-preserved calmness. She may have regained her tranquil state of mind after that, but solving and dispersing the Naruto kage bunshins (and the real one) drained her. All the stress took its toll, and Orochimaru took advantage of it.

Opportunistic sons of bitches.

Both Danzo and Orochimaru would like to voice their taunts when she's low on chakra. And both liked to show up in dreams when she's alone and let her guard down. But the main differences among those creepy douches, was that Danzo's sermons actually happened in real life, while Orochimaru's only happened inside her head. And while Danzo stuck with the past, Orochimaru got more creative and liked to keep things up-to-date, and bully her with the present.

Hinata could easily say that Danzo was the traditional /utilitarian anal -retentive crocodile fornicator, and Orochimaru was the highly imaginative and queer cretin, the Lord of all Cripple Dicks personified.

What made Orochimaru a more effective mindfuck specialist was because he knew how to use his main arsenal: her fears.

He always seemed ecstatic to butter up his hobby of vexing her. It's like he'd always been waiting for that crack to happen, so he can have a torture party in her brain again.

Crap. Enough with this shit. Someone wake her up in the real world, now!

Caught in her own thoughts, she failed to prepare her defenses when Orochimaru sauntered forward and knelt in front of her.

"How does it feel to see Konoha shinobis again other than your partners, eh, little miss kunoichi?" Orochimaru's long and sickly fingers caressed her face and neck, and she felt the bile from her stomach skyrocket to her throat. Filthy, filthy, filthy fucking piece of vermin! She hissed in indignation and tried to kick him in the 'nads, which was futilely avoided by the Sannin.

The Sannin's face reflected mock hurt. "Oh, is that how you treat Kakashi when he touches you? Little Miss Hyuuga-_sama_, we both know that's not the way to go into getting into other people's pants."

He strutted around the room, languidly waved his sword around before he pierced her just below her sternum.

"Shame. If you were still in love with that horrendously dressed fox demon, things would have been more interesting." That dastardly dressed power-obsessed grouchy pale-faced son of a bitch continued to poke his sword on her bleeding chest cavity. She momentarily grit her teeth to prevent herself from giving him the satisfaction of hearing her cries of pain.

"But there _are _people right now who are making things interesting, aren't there, little Miss Hyuuga-_sama_?" Orochimaru eyed her from head-to-toe, and she shivered in disgust as to how his eyes traced the trail of blood dripping from her sides to her thighs, knees, and finally landed to the ground.

She hated it when the pedobear knew too much of what was going on with her surroundings and she hated him even more when he would casually throw it in her face.

"Shut up, tranny." She grudgingly croaked, and Orochimaru cackled at her pathetic attempt to wittingly retort. He knelt back down to her and grabbed her chin. "You and that Root boy have met… how was he, was he as charming as his master, that oaf Danzo?" He smiled evilly. "And what about the pink-haired missy? I'm pretty sure you've been itching to put her in her place."

She spat blood and saliva to his face. "None of your fuckin' business."

He released her head and gloriously laughed, unruffled by her rudeness. "You always surprise me, kunoichi! You never fail to entertain me." He pulled out something from his lab coat pocket, and Hinata blanched at the sight of a syringe filled with a red substance. He licked his lips at her reaction, and Hinata went paler when she saw the obvious malice that danced in his slit-like eyes. "Now let's have some fun, shall we?"

Just when he was about to approach her, Manda came in and hissed something in his ear. He was clearly displeased about it, and quickly approached Hinata with a fake smile. "We'll continue this later. Now off you go with Manda and have some little _fun_ with his old friend."

Before she could react, she was swallowed by the humongous snake in one gulp. She kept her eyes and mouth closed. The last thing she wanted was for this scaly creature's filth getting inside her body. She felt him travel languidly, and the next thing she realized she was in the Forest of Death, Manda had expelled her from his body, and another figure stood close to where she landed.

First she saw were the claws, its grayish white legs and then its black pointed wings. She repositioned her head to get a good look, and craned her neck to see the creature. It's head and one eye was covered with bandages, and its wrinkled skin showed scars and scratches he assumed came from other birds.

Now she really needed someone to wake her up. Fast. Because Kami-sama knows if she dies in her sleep, most probably she'll die in the real world too.

She thought she was imagining that the bird tendered towards her a look of condescension, but the ginormous vulture started to scrape her skin with her claws and flapped its wings in midair. The bird of prey pecked his enormous beak on her wounds, and minced on her lacerations and bruises. Although blazing pain continued to overload her senses, she ducked her head and closed her eyes, for she knew that vultures liked to peck on their prey's eyes to incapacitate them before they go for the kill.

She squirmed and tried to move, but every flexion and extension of her muscles only tripled the severity of the pain she felt. She curled her body and inhaled, her extremities getting cold and clammy due to the extent of her blood loss. As Manda and the vulture hovered over her lethargic form, Hinata could not help but shed tears of frustration over her misfortune. The level of her consciousness was dropping, and she felt Manda loop himself to her body, getting ready to crush her lithe form into bite-size treats.

_And I'm going to die without the Hokage knowing about the whole truth._

Suffocated, tired and incoherent, she made one last gulp of air before closing her opalescent eyes and surrendered to defeat.

_I never even got to see and talk to Gaara… Gaara, where are you?! Hear me! Please, help me!_

She shrieked her cries for help in her head, hoping that some sort of deity or spirit would telepathically send her message across to her roommate.

Lost and defeated, a few plump tears escaped her lacrimal ducts as she thought of the Kazekage.

Just as she could hear an enormous creature's feet – four feet to be exact - running towards the three of them.

She kept her eyes closed, already afraid of what kind of added trouble this creature will do to her, when Manda snarled at the creature and eventually let go of her body. Hinata also heard the vulture flap its wings, when the creature howled and she heard the vulture let out an anguished sound. She landed on the ground with a heavy thud, and although still fearing for her life, she popped her eyes open.

What greeted her was one of the biggest creatures she had ever seen.

What's even more surprising, was the creature had cut Manda in two, and it also successfully heavily scarred the vulture's chest with its – paws.

A sandy-brown colored creature approximately 70 feet tall came to her rescue and injured her dementors. Black markings covered everything from its face to its tail. Its concave mouth bared jagged fangs to the vulture and the snake, while its claws dug into the earth, ready for its next strike.

She could only see its backside, but the enormous beast's tail carefully enveloped and picked her body, shielding her from being involved in this forest fight. When the beast looked back at her, pearly white eyes met with black ones.

Her savior was a tanuki.

The raccoon dog looked again at its opponents, and growled menacingly into their faces. It raised its left paw into Manda, and crushed his head into the ground. Its brute force caused the slithering creature's head to scatter in bits, while the tanuki stretched the snake's body and continued to snap them in pieces.

The vulture tried to grab Hinata using its claws, but the tanuki was swifter in swiveling its tail away from the vulture. The raccoon dog jumped into the air and grabbed the vulture with both of its paws. The beast clapped its paws together, and squeezed and snapped the vulture in two.

In 5 minutes or less, the tanuki's fur turned from sandy brown to crimson red.

The beast growled and looked around, assessing its environment for any other threats. When the tanuki felt sure it was safe, it positioned its tail in front of it, and looked at the shivering bundle wrapped in its fur.

Hinata's shuddering form alarmed the tanuki, and it instantly calmed down and became aware of her fear and anxiety. It settled the kunoichi into the ground carefully, and for a while Hinata felt belittled by the staring contest between the animal and her. When it lowered its humongous head into the ground, she closed her eyes and waited with abaited breath for what was to come next.

Slowly, its black nose nudged her head, as if telling her to look at it straight in the eye. Hesistantly, she raised her head. It lowered its head, nuzzled its nose on her head and carefully started to lick her injuries.

It licked her face, her arms and hands, her torso, her legs and her feet, and for some strange reason, it gave her a sense of peace, a sense of comfort that felt oddly pleasant. A warm feeling started to invade her senses, and when she looked down at the places the tanuki had licked her, she could see that her injuries were beginning to heal, the incisions beginning to mend, and the bruises start to disappear.

This was the first time that she saw such creature in her dreams, and the first time she was comforted in this fucked-up place, and yet the tanuki held such a strong sense of familiarity, such a strong sense of protection, that she had forgotten how to feel happy inside a dream, something she hadn't experienced in a long time. The beast curled into a ball, wrapping her with its warm fur, and she couldn't help but lean into its snout and silently thank it for its protection and affection.

_"I just want to tell her I'm sorry for being a prick, and I'm going out on a limb here but I hope she does come home."_

That distant echo…. That timbre…. That voice….

_"I just want her back, Naruto."_

She choked up and cried.

For the first time, for a very very long time, the countless nightmares finally yielded into a pleasant dream.

The tanuki gave her one last long lick, and assisted her to the ground. The moment she touched the ground, she could feel the tapestry of the Forest of Death slowly fade into the background. Hinata felt she was lifted to the ground by the wind, but she grabbed into the creature's snout.

She hugged its snout again, at which the tanuki slowly closed its eyes and purred. It nudged her and she let herself go.

While she was up in the air, she glanced down at her savior.

Thirty feet up in the sky, the animal raised its head to the heavens, and howled to the full moon.

* * *

"Hime!"

"Hime!"

"Hime!"

Her body trembled and she gasped for air and opened her eyes.

Gone were the restraints that binded her from any movement.

Gone was the gag placed in her mouth.

Gone was the wetness that should have been present in her face, which meant that someone had wiped her face clean and tended to her while she was gone to dreamland.

Gone was the lovable Gamatatsu's protection to her while she was in his belly, the poor little toad's noteworthy and successful attempt of placing her in his own version of the Water Prison jutsu. She must thank Jiraiya-sama's pet soon.

In place around her body was a blanket she once saw in the closet, the smell of pine and sandalwood bringing joy and warmth into her body in more ways than one.

Placed atop her head was a silky red handkerchief, the Suna village symbol weaved in the lower left corner side, which meant that could only belong to one person.

Said person looked at her with panicky eyes, his face and neck full of unguarded concern and scratch marks she presumed came from her, and a tumultuous range of emotions openly bared in front of her and her being.

She pulled him hard into her and embraced him wantonly, uncaring about her environment, not giving a flying fuck if other people would judge her in her state right now.

What mattered now was him. Him, her, and the safety, security and protection she felt right now, just like that feeling when she got wrapped up in the fuzzy furs of the tanuki from another dimension.

He squeezed her small frame into his while she rested her head in his firm chest.

"Gaara."

Embracing her under the full moon, in the empty cemetery of Suna, Hinata finally found her saving grace.

"Don't worry…. Take in the air and breathe." He let out softly. "The nightmare's over. You're safe with me, Hime."

* * *

_**The Longest Day: Suna Training Grounds, 9:00 PM**_

"And yet again, the Council thanks you, our dear people of Suna, for coming again to our festival in honor of Kazekage-sama."

The people clapped as one of the Suna Elders closed his speech, and Kankuro who was pretending to be Gaara gave an impassive nod to the elder. The people of Suna were happy, the booth vendors were happy, the old geezers were happy, but in the middle of the stage set up in Suna's biggest training ground, perched in a magnificent oakwood chair, Kankuro was having an itch fest that just wouldn't want to go away.

_This shit is itchy as fuck. Why the hell does he wear something over his regular clothes as stupid as this?_

He could copy Gaara's expressions to a T, but the way the damned Kage robes are killing him, he might as well bite his cheeks until they bled before he gets busted for impersonating his brother!

And though try as he might to restrain from scratching his skin, it would be very out of the real Gaara's character to be uncomfortable with his occupational robes. And as much as he wanted to throw out a whole booklet of curses for his current predicament, eyebrows would certainly raise (especially from the council), because Gaara doesn't curse – in public that is.

He needed a diversion, something to think about.

_Think about Naruto._

He fervently hoped that whatever Naruto was planning, would work. The dobe seemed really enthusiastic about helping his brother, but that feeling, that intense sense of impending doom, just would never get out of his system ever since the Konoha nin went out of the greenhouse.

And he might be grasping straws here, but he really, really wanted to see Hinata and Gaara make up by now. A Gaara without a Hinata is a broody Gaara, and a broody Gaara is kinda cranky Gaara, and when there's a cranky Gaara all hell might break loose.

A Special Jounin that was standing from behind approached him, informed him of one important person's arrival. "Kazekage-sama, Temari-sama is demanding your presence on your tent below the stage. She says it's important."

Demanded. Temari _demanded_. That word alone fueled his brain to politely excuse himself from all the surrounding elders, and held his breath until he reached the bottom of the hidden stairs behind the stage, down to the tent meant only for him and the first family.

When he entered there, the look of horror and worry on Temari's face alerted him for something unpleasant.

"I'm your sister, Kankuro, I know that frown doesn't belong to Gaara. And I'm going to brush aside what you did to me, because this is more important." His sister knew him too well to be deceived by his henge, and when Temari gets all businesslike with him, rule of thumb is always to shut up, listen and nod. So he stupidly nodded, but added "sorry". His sister nodded, and went serious again. She gasped for a large amount of air, and started her tale.

"A crying Ryuu-chan told me. They were in the backyard when Naruto approached Hinata-chan for a much needed talk. Hinata-chan obliged, sent the poor boy inside the house. Then they were gone, and both of them weren't seen after that… Then _this_ guy comes along."

Temari pulled out from her pockets a disheveled looking Gamakichi. What had Naruto done to his own summon?

"I swear to God Jiraiya-sama's going to kill him!" He stomped his feet into the ground. "Him and Hinata-chan were just talking, while me and bro were just looking at them from the ground. Something to do about that bloke that housed that funky tailed beast."

The toad grabbed his head in exasperation. "Then out the blue, he grinned, made a bunch of Kage bunshins into the desert, and chased Hinata-chan. He later captured her with a rope, gagged her, instructed Gamatatsu to get bigger, and stuffed her inside my brother's belly."

Kankuro looked at the toad with shock… The fuck?

"Shocked, eh? We met her when we were kids, so yeah were familiar with her. And yeah, I also can't believe the sheer stupidity of Naruto doing that."

Seeing the uneasiness of the news, Gamakichi decided to throw a bone. "If it makes you feel better, the nature of my brother's chakra is Suiton, they're compatible, so he'll be able to protect her for sure." He sighed again. "I could reverse summon Narutard, bring his sorry ass by Kuchiyose, but of course the one time he decided to be intelligent was now, because he ordered me to keep out of his business. Tsk. So I gotta follow my master's orders, man."

Kankuro looked at Temari, hungry for more explanations. "I left the house to Shika while I've been searching for them everywhere in this festival, even at the tower, and I haven't seen them and I really, _really_ don't know what's happening."

Kankuro gulped. "Naruto was going to go with Gaara at Chiyo-obaa-sama's grave."

His sister's pleading eyes bore straight into him. "Find them, Kankuro. Please, find Naruto first. I'll do a henge of brother and go up in the stage, but I'll also leave a clone down here, just in case they come to this tent. I'll buy you time."

He nodded again. "I'll be as quick as possible, sis." He gave her a peck on the cheek, and she hugged him tightly. Somehow, he knew he was forgiven – by just a bit.

He dropped his Gaara henge and took off the stupid Kazekage outfit and straw hat. He hurriedly went outside, lost in the swarms of civilians and shinobis.

_Where the hell is that dobe?_

He had to move. Fast. God knows what will happen if those three end up killing each other. He craned his neck and searched for a certain blonde from every booth and food stand possible. And after 10 minutes that felt like an hour, he glimpsed the idiot eating takoyakis on a food stand.

_Don't be brash, Kankuro, try to be as cool as possible. For everyone's sake._

He had to keep reminding himself not to punch the fool the moment Naruto turned around and faced him.

"Oh, haha, Kankuro, its you!" He scratched his head and laughed, and Kankuro had to count Naruto's incisors, canines and molars to help himself relax a bit. "I need to show ya something."

The whiskered man got something out of his packet. It was a small red pouch. The blond man smiled widely at him, happiness and hopefulness evident in his warm cerulean eyes.

"Kankuro, what would do you think Tori-chan would say to me if I show and give her THE ring?"

THE RING? What did he mean by THE ring? And why would he give her THE ring? It… It can't be…

His mind whirled into the most likely scenario: the guy on his knees, holding the hand of a beautiful girl, while he slips THE ring into the girl's fourth finger in the left hand.

Oh.

THE fucking ring.

All of Kankuro's thoughts of a decent conversation with Naruto just zapped out from his mind, long gone with the harsh Suna wind.

_Oh no, you didn't!_

Kankuro's brain got haywire, went berserk and as some strands of familiar messenger sand formed in the air on Kankuro's eye level, he just have to do the inevitable.

Kankuro punched Naruto straight in the face.

* * *

_**The Longest Day: Suna Cemetery, 9:10 PM**_

He knew they were both creatures of silence, but this… this overbearing, taxing, chest-crushing, throat-choking silence was more than he could handle.

It was already more than ten minutes of silence, and Gaara was getting more nervous every passing minute Hinata was not talking to him.

Forget his injuries he garnered while she scratched and teared him with her nails during her sleepwalk; he needed to do something fast before she goes back to dreamland again. He needed to iron out his faults by this evening, or face the morning cranky and nervous at the same time.

Trying to alleviate the awkwardness, he spoke out the first thing that came out of his mind.

"What did you dream about?"

She looked up at him, her doe shaped eyes seem to enlarge more because of his question.

Damn him and his curiosity of dreams. Granted he was excited (and still waiting) to get lost in one, it was insensitive of him to ask of hers, knowing that she might not be ready to talk about it.

Did he do more damage than good while asking that question? Will she ignore his question again and then they are going to be back to that awful time when he would feel like filth because she would not recognize his presence, or damn it to hell, his very _existence_, just like what happened in the mart? God, is this what it felt like being in Kankuro's shoes, trying to deal with women and their kinda-difficult-to-understand behavior? Feeling lost and confused, his shoulders began to slouch. The skin above Gaara's nose crinkled, and his lips twitched before he managed to pout.

A hand reached out to cover his face, and Hinata's small thumb massaged the area where his (imaginary) eyebrows met. He straightened his gait, caught between fear and anticipation of what will be her answer.

"You're thinking too much." She massaged the area again, and with the slightest touch of her right hand on his forearm, he was able to relax a bit. " I… I dreamt of … white snakes and… bandaged vultures."

"Hn." That was all he said, but he knew of the implied meaning.

Orochimaru and Danzo.

His grim expression was apparent.

Them again.

She looked at his tattoo, and without leaving her gaze away from it, Hinata started to stroke with her thumb the love kanji on his forehead. "My … my fears… they crept out and took hold of me." Her cracked voice heightened his protectiveness. Caught in her own thoughts, she cowered into him, burying herself into his chest more, as her grip on his waist tightened. He felt relieved that she was opening up to him after what she went thorugh, so he felt compelled to do his part too.

" I… I have my fears too." He dived his face into her wet hair, as he massaged his handkerchief at the top of her tresses. But Hinata placed her hands on his shoulders, forcing him to face her in the eye.

"What do you fear? What are you terrified of?"

He embraced her, caught between hesitancy and embarrassment. "I can't say."

She let go of his shoulders and distanced herself, and Gaara fumbled to embrace her again. "But I can show you."

He turned her around so that her back was against his chest. She was puzzled by his actions, but he rested his forehead on her shoulders, as sand grains started to hover in the air and form shapes.

The sands in the desert started to accumulate, and every pressing second, each grain of sand started to form into defining shapes.

There was a guy with spiky hair, an oval-shaped face, and Hinata could see three defining lines that grazed its cheeks. She looked down at his neck, down towards his shirt wherein a whirlpool sign was drawn in the center. He wore jeans and ninja sandals, and his kunai was placed at the right side of his thigh.

_Naruto-kun._

The second figure rose from the ground, and from what she could discern, the figure was a girl. Spiky shoulder length hair, a small neck, sleeveless blouse that showcased a little bit of skin around the abdominal area. Spandex shorts, and a skirt worn above the shorts. Her kunai was also placed on her right thigh, and her long legs ultimately led to boots. She had her thin arms and hands on her waist, and her gait exuded of confidence and power.

_Sakura._

She looked at the third figure, and she concluded that this girl had more detail than the other two. More effort was placed with this figure. The bambi eyes. The small button nose. The smiling lips. The hime cut that framed her heart shaped face. The thin neck. The hair that reached the lower back. The long-sleeved spandex under the shirt, and the Konoha Jounin flack jacket. The poking index fingers. The baggy jeans. The kunai holstered at the right thigh. The ninja sandals. It doesn't take a genius to figure out who it was.

Her, personified in Gaara's sand.

The last figure was another boy. Messy, spiky hair where the front part of his fringe parted to reveal the love tattoo. His tanuki eyes, his elegant nose, his thin lips. The guy wore a long sleeved shirt, and complimented it with pants. He had a gourd placed at his back, and Hinata was sure there was only one person that could be that.

_Gaara._

He tightened his embrace around her, making sure that whatever he would show her, she would not walk away. She didn't resist with his ministrations, and so he closed her eyes, and visualized what she was about to see.

The Sand Hinata approached the spiky-haired Sand Uzumaki. She reached out her hand, as if trying to talk to the blonde. But the Uzumaki did not look at her, and instead approached Sand Sakura. He knelt in front of Sakura, smiled at her and reached out for his hand. Sakura smiled at Naruto and took his hand. They smiled at each other, and Naruto encircled his hand on her small waist, as Sakura leaned into his shoulder. They walked off, leaving the dejected figure of Sand Hinata.

Sand Hinata sat on the ground, her head placed atop her knees. She gathered her small fingers in front of her shin. The real Hinata which was caught in Gaara's embrace looked at her sand counterpart, as Sand Hinata's eyes released some small bullets of sand.

The sand figure was crying.

"I hate it when you're in pain." The real Gaara breathed the words into her ears. She reclined her head into his left shoulder, and he intertwined his fingers into hers while her blush came into full force and redness invaded her face and neck. Softly, he caressed her hands with her thumb, and she waited for him to continue. But he rested his forehead again into her, and the Konoha kunoichi looked back at her sand figure and waited for him to continue.

A few moments later, Sand Gaara came along and sat beside her. Sand Hinata did not look at the guy, so he scooted himself nearer. She looked up while the sand guy gave him a small smile. She wiped the bullets tears from her eyes. He held out his hand to her, and after some reluctant moments, she accepted it.

More sand came into view, and Sand Gaara and Sand Hinata were crouched into the ground. They were both patting and scooping their hands into the ground, and the real Hinata saw shapes of small towers, rectangles and triangles gradually increasing its size. They continued to work together, until they were halfway through making the door and four pillars that served as the foundation of what they were building.

They were both laughing, molding their sandcastle to their ideal size and height. Both sand figures were obviously enjoying what they were doing, until Sand Naruto arrived.

Sand Naruto talked to the both of them, and by that the real Hinata deduced that he was asking them if he could join. Sand Gaara crossed his arms, while Sand Hinata pleaded to him. She unclasped his hands and held it with hers, and he later nodded in approval. Sand Naruto, Hinata and Gaara continued to work on the sandcastle.

When the sandcastle was finished, both three sand figures looked at their work. All three were smiling at their accomplishment. Sand Gaara reached out for Sand Hinata's hand and held it tightly. Just as he was about to lead them out of the scene, Hinata let go of his hand and shook her head. She turned around him and approached Sand 's figure held out his hand this time to Hinata, and the kunoichi smiled and accepted.

As they started to walk out of the scene, Sand Gaara was momentarily rooted at his place. He looked at the sand castle they just made. As he walked out into the opposite direction, with his drooped head and his hands in his pockets, the sand castle slowly dissolved, until every single grain settled itself into the vast Suna cemetery.

Silence filled the air again. But this time, Hinata was the first one to speak.

"You were afraid…. That I would go back to Konoha? That I would go back with Naruto-kun?"

He was highly displeased with the –kun suffix attached to Naruto, but now really wasn't the time to show his jealous side.

"You were afraid that I would leave you? That's why you didn't want me in the tower?"

He remained silent, so Hinata unclasped his hold on her, and slowly repositioned her body to face him.

His head was still directed to the ground, and she clasped his face to look him in the eye. "I think it was absurd for you to think of it that way… because, Gaara… I'm not going anywhere… not with him."

"But you loved him."

"That was the past, this is the present… And yet I'm here in Suna, with you."

Not wasting the given momentum, he clasped her hands and held them in her lap.

Hinata was confused by the troubled look Gaara gave her. She was about to reassure him again, but he interjected. "While you were drugged, you mumbled things… You said Sakura-san betrayed you."

That was the last thing she expected to come out from his mouth, and by the way she openly ogled at him, his revelation unnerved her.

"And I also know about your past… with Kakashi."

"But.. That was ages ago! Kakashi and I are just friends, Gaara – "

"And it had to take a moron like Kankuro to throw that into my face! So with the deepest apologies, my Hime, I'm sorry!"

Hinata was still speechless, shellshock by what he said about her best friend and ex-friend.

Gaara dug his hands into her hair, as he anchored his forehead on hers. She could hear and feel his warm breath on her face. No wonder her face just lit up like Christmas lights.

"But whatever it is your deal with Sakura-san, what this day has taught me, Hime, is that I really shouldn't meddle."

He turned his head sideways, emotionally preparing himself for what's to come out from his mouth, of what he was about to say, but he had to get this out in the open before it consumed him and his (highly unpredictable) sanity.

"And this day also told me, that I shouldn't be insecure about your friendship with Kakashi." It was spoken so softly, that she was thankful she was so near, had good ears and could lip read, because she wouldn't be able to hear his honest admission otherwise.

But that didn't take him out of the shithole, because she had to ask him this, that one mystery that surely made her day sour.

"But ..but why get insecure with him, Gaara? And Tenzou? Why did you have to burn their clothes?"

He slowly looked up, and looked at her. REALLY REALLY looked at her. Her chest felt heavy for the lack of oxygen because of his proximity. Her lips automatically parted to suck in air, to aid her highly deoxygenated lungs from much needed air supply.

His intent gaze only made her more nervous, the tips of her fingers twitched and trembled. She focused her gaze on his collar, afraid to meet his aquamarine eyes.

"Because it pisses me off that you still look fucking good when you're wearing _his_ clothes."

_W-Wait, what? Did… Did he just curse?_

She looked up at him, and his eyes softened. He rubbed his thumb at her parted lips, and descended it to her chin as he anchored the rest of the other fingers on her jaw.

"And because I think that you're at your most beautiful whenever you're wearing _mine_."

Overwhelmed by emotions and his final chance of being honest with his feelings, he closed his eyes and did the one thing he had never imagined five years ago he would be doing right now.

Just as shooting stars fell above the vast heavens of the Suna Cemetery, just as the colorful festival fireworks plopped and exploded in the Suna training ground's skies, Gaara closed his eyes and pressed his lips unto hers.

And just like that, her heart began that lub dup sound again. Her ears began to heat, her cheeks turned cherry red, and her mouth went dry again, because Gaara was just so sincere and so emotional, and so friggin _close_, that somehow, she can't help but feel nervous and happy and twitchy and giddy and downright _blissful_.

Because with her, he could be vulnerable this moment and be angry at the next. Because he was able to be truthful and finally explain things that boggled her mind this morning. Because he was able to share this side with her, such openness a rare feat to see in men when in front of the all-seeing eyes of a Hyuuga.

And just because… Just because he just made her feel different. And treasured. And special.

It was only a lip to lip to contact, and it only lasted for 15 seconds or less, with her eyes tightly closed and with his opening to the most beautiful blush he had ever seen. But for Gaara, it was a feat on his own.

She came to her senses, and he watched as her eyes popped and her mouth parted, so Gaara dived in for another chance to liplock with her.

But this one was different. Purely different from the first: open-mouthed, warmer, and more sincere than the first.

His upper lip latched on to her lower lip, and he grasped her head with his big hands. He drew her closer, enjoying the feel of her lips with his, while he breathed in her scent as if his very life depended on it.

He slowly opened his eyes again and they both withdrew, her obviously still unnerved and him highly satisfied with finally bursting that bubble that once filled his chest whenever he was with her.

Caught in between surrealism and reality, he couldn't help from stopping himself to continue to shower her with affections, so he muttered the simplest syllables he could come up for the moment.

"I'm yours… and you're mine, Hime."

She felt her throat constrict. Did she hear that right?

_Wa-wa- wa-was that…. Just…a-an indirect confession?!_

Hinata's mind couldn't decide what to think. Couldn't process. Couldn't react. All her ANBU training just went out of the window when his soft lips landed unto hers.

And just because of that first kiss (his first kiss, for goodness sake!) followed by an open-mouthed one, just because he had closed the gap with her, with those impeccably light, sweet, featherlike touching of his lips to hers, with Gaara, she suddenly felt that she will always have a multitude of reasons to feel that sweet lub dup rhythm all over again.

.

.

.

So Hinata's body did something she hasn't done in front of another guy ever since she was taken away from Konoha.

.

.

.

She fainted.

* * *

A/N Part 2

Thanks for following: Oblivion's Demon, TheGirlWithNoIQ, amethystfirechik, CrimsonsNight, Thanzeel, .Tempest, maying38

Thanks for adding to your favorites: CenturysRuin, TheGirlWithNoIQ, amethystfirechik, CrimsonsNight, Thanzeel, .Tempest, maying38

Edit: June 8, 2013 - thank you for the faves and follows: AngelicXI, ak26smith, neminka,

For the reviews:

mrstoy – hey there again! :D thanks for leaving a review! :D my sentence structure and my verbs are better because I have a beta now :D so glad you enjoyed it.

Carly- thank you for loving this fic..that KakaHina was done while I was at work. One guy approached me while I was so focused at doing that, I jumped when he approached and I had to cover the screen so he won't be able to see me concentrating on writing smut. Need to be more careful.. when I read that review, it affected me. It kinda dampened the mood. But thanks to a lot of other positive reviews, I have recovered J and yeah, I do have a beta reader now (KiraChan44). I have a problem with verbs. And sentence structure, and she fixes them for me J aah, for redemption, I have some plans, but I'll get there when I get there :D hope I can deliver. Thanks again!

genotype – thanks, hope you liked this one too! Xoxo

sailorangelmoon1- hahaha, thanks! :D I also thought about that one too, that's why I had to put it in the previous chapter! :D

Veraozao – as always ,thanks so much :D

WHITElady043 - :D and here is your next chapter. I hope you enjoy this J Naruto has weird friendships with almost everyone. But I like them :D … haha, yes , I just put her inside Gamatatsu's belly. :D I think it will make Gaara angry. Lol

TheGirlWithNoIQ- thanks :Dv The idea, well, sometimes they just come, and sometimes something inspires me. Like the sand presentation in this chapter. I was watching _Rise of the Guardians _ with a few nephews and nieces, and Sandman was awesome in that movie. suddenly I thought "Wouldn't it be cool for Gaara to show this to Hinata? Show her his fears instead of actually saying them?" so yeah. And the cockblocker-no-jutsu. I dunno. It sprung out of nowhere. :D Sometimes I don't understand myself :D Ideas come when they feel like coming :D I hope you enjoy this chapter

Forever-A-Guest - hahaha, that means so much, thanks a lot :D ? maybe because I really like Kakashi and Hinata that's why I can do the lemon. If it was an OroHina or Akamaru x Hinata lemon, bleh, I wouldn't be able to do that in this lifetime :D And I also hope that things would get better IRL so I can continue to write and hopefully lesser writer's block moments.

.Tempest – thank you! :D I hope you enjoy this one.

kandita – thank you :D As of Danzo, he will have his moment :D

KiraChan44 – thank you for the encouragement! And the feedbacks! And of course, the editing :D! xoxo

I'm sorry it took so long. I was having rough times by the end of April and half of May.

I didn't expect to receive a call at 3 in the morning, May 3, 2013. One of closest friend's mother frantically called me while she was inside the ambulance, because my dear friend just had to attempt to commit suicide while their was a massive rainstorm.

He was depressed, I have deduced before. His thoughts were getting darker. He was losing weight. He had been in the ER before, with Asthma secondary to Anxiety... I have encouraged him to talk. He doesn't budge. He was getting silent. But I thought he didn't have the energy to commit suicide. Yet.

I should have seen the telltale sign before shit hit the fan. He was happy that day. May 3. He didn't come to work, but his texts were "positive" and "less gloomy". He finally had the energy to do it.

I had low self esteem before chapter 23. That was end of April. It interfered with my work and my writing. I was drowning in my sorrows and tending wounds for being rejected by a love interest, and therefore was too focused on myself, I forgot about the obsessive dark things he was thinking. So he did what he thought was right on May 3. I'm just glad he wasn't as trigger-happy as before.

So yeah I had to sort things out. Help a friend after his attempted suicide, the visits to the psychiatrists, the constant reminders to avoid choco-colored foods that might interfere with his medications. friends stuff.

Finally had the courage to write again. And my beta reader (KiraChan44), she is also caught up with RL stuff, and is busy too.

Edit: June 8, 2013- The click of death. T.T . RIP Hard drive, 2 years worth of files and the 3 chapter plot bunnies for another AU Fic. F*ck. That really scared me. .. Sorry, I'll upload this even if unbetaed, this is the only thing that's left of my fics because it was sent before the Click of Death. I will update this chapter once i receive the betaed version.

I feel guilty for not writing soon... things happened. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I would really really love to hear from all of you! R & R please! Thanks! :)


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